Sunburn
by HPincognito247
Summary: Troy gets a sunburn, Gabriella helps him. Troyella. Originally this was a oneshot, but has now been extended to a threeshot. Enjoy!
1. The Sunburn

**A/N: So, I got sunburned. I was at home, unable to move much, and this popped into my head. I would like to mention that I do not take rape lightly, Troy is just…Troy, and I could see him totally overreacting and saying that. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HSM, the actors that represent them, or Scooby Doo.**

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Gabriella Montez was not a traveler. Despite that her mother spent a good portion of Gabriella's youth dragging her from city to city on business, and she had visited pretty much every state in the US, Gabriella hated traveling. Growing up, she had seen the kind of stress it had put on her mother, not only having to repack the house, but also leaving behind friends and memories each time. Gabriella never wanted that for herself and decided that when the time came to pick a career and husband, she'd choose something and someone that would require her to stay in one location.

She'd pretty much failed on both fronts.

"_Welcome to Albuquerque, New Mexico,"_ Gabriella watched as the seatbelt light turned off above them, and she quickly grabbed her phone from her purse, eager to turn it on, _"the time is now 11:43 in the morning, the weather is 68 degree and sunny. It is expected to be a beautiful day."_ Gabriella lifted her head and watched as the flight attendant smiled politely at all of the passengers around her, none of them caring what she was saying, all of them just eager to get off of the plane. _"On behalf of the captain and all of our staff, we thank you for flying with us today, and hope you enjoy your stay."_

Almost immediately, the plane erupted in chaos. All of the various business travelers from Baltimore, as well as a few stragglers they had picked up on their layover in Texas, in a hurry to get to their business meetings or conferences. None of them caring about anyone else as they rushed to get their carryons and push their way towards the front of the plane. Not that Gabriella could blame them; she was in a hurry too. Grabbing her duffle bag from the overhead compartment and pushing her way forward with the rest. But her reasoning wasn't work. It was much better.

She didn't come home often enough. That was one of the first thoughts that hit her as she walked through the terminal of the Albuquerque airport. She knew the Baltimore airport like the back of her hand, and she could direct anyone to anywhere they needed to go at LAX, but she didn't even remember where the bathrooms were at the Albuquerque one. Sad, she knew, and she bet her mother would have a thing or two to say to her in the week that she would be home, but, unfortunately, her job and life just didn't allow for frequent trips to New Mexico.

Slipping into the bathroom, Gabriella pulled her duffle bag and purse over her head, setting it down on the tiled bathroom floor as she stopped in front of the sink, gazing at her reflection in the mirror. Gabriella always disliked her appearance. Not necessarily the individual parts. Alone, she loved her chocolate colored eyes, naturally tanned skin, full lips, and long wavy hair. But together, she was just never satisfied with how her looks came together. Her friends and family thought she was crazy, with her petite frame and dangerous curves, they always claimed that she could become a model if she really wanted too. But Gabriella disagreed. Her looks, all meshed together, always made her look younger then she actually was, which was fine when she was forty, not when she was twenty six and already struggling to prove herself in her current profession.

Reaching up, Gabriella teased her curls with her fingers, trying to give her hair a bit of the volume it had lost on the five hour plane ride. Moving her fingers to her newly added bangs, she swept them to the side in an effort to rid them from her line of sight. She hoped he liked it. When she had gone to get her hair cut a few weeks back, she had considered just chopping it all off, but instead decided to get bangs. Her reaction with her Baltimore friends was good, but this would be the true test.

After reapplying some lipgloss, Gabriella made her way back out into busy terminal, her eyes scanning all of the various faces in search of the one she never got to see enough. Most likely he'd be dressed in jeans. Most likely he'd be wearing his beanie and aviators. And most likely he'd be just as anxious to see her as she was to see him following a three month separation where their only form of communication was their cell phones.

"Gabriella!"

Gabriella turned at the voice, her eyes wide and hopeful, a bright smile on her lips in anticipation of seeing…her boyfriend's mother. Gabriella's smile faded and her eyebrows shot up in surprise at seeing a very excited Lucille Bolton barreling towards her, "Lucy?"

Gabriella barely had a chance to register before Lucille enveloped Gabriella into her arms, hugging the petite brunette tightly, "Oh, it's so good to see you," she smiled at Lucille's tight hug, "it has been way too long."

Gabriella nodded as she pulled back, "I know, I know, and I _promise_ I'll come visit more often, it's just with work…"

Lucille waved her hand, silencing Gabriella, "No excuses, young lady, if I can get visit from my very busy NBA superstar son, I can get a visit from you."

Gabriella pursed her lips, attempting to restrain the smile that always came to her lips every time he was brought up. Troy Alexander Bolton, son to Jack and Lucille Bolton, longtime boyfriend of Gabriella Montez, and reigning starting pointguard of the Los Angeles Lakers. The dream had always been a distant one all of Troy's life, and even when he made starting varsity as a freshman at UCLA, he held no false notions. Even across the country at Yale, Gabriella knew that. However, it didn't take long for his distant dream to become a reality, and before anyone knew it, Troy was twenty and signing his first NBA contract, destined for greatness. Greatness he quickly achieved, and six years later, Troy was a powerhouse for the Lakers. And for the tabloids. It _was_ hard to ignore his movie star good looks.

"Even," Lucille continued, "if you are a doctor."

Gabriella blushed at the mention of her profession. Even if it had been over a year since she'd graduated from medical school, Gabriella still couldn't believe that she was a _doctor_. Following graduation from East High, Gabriella had accepted a full ride to Yale University, and after working really hard, she managed to finish both regular college as well as medical school in six years, having graduated almost a year and a half earlier where she then moved to Baltimore, accepting an internship at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

"Speaking of Troy," Gabriella switched subjects, looking around them, "where is he? I thought he said he'd pick me up?"

Lucille gestured to her duffle bag, "Is this all of your luggage?" Gabriella nodded, "Then let's head to the car, I'll tell you on the way home."

Lucille guided Gabriella towards the exit, Gabriella watching the female Bolton wearily, "Tell me what?"

Lucille held open the door, following Gabriella through it as the pair walked out into the Albuquerque sun, the slight chill of fall passing over the two girls, "Well," Lucille started, "there was an accident…"

* * *

"CHAD DID _WHAT_?"

Maria Montez jumped at the sound of her daughter's voice ringing through the Bolton household. Jack Bolton, who was perched at the kitchen table, lowered his paper he had been reading, and watched as the front door flew open and an angry Gabriella stormed into the house.

"He said it was a prank." Lucille weakly defended as she followed Gabriella into the house, closing the door behind her, "A joke."

"No," Gabriella said walking into the kitchen, "a joke is thinking that Chad will ever grow up, a joke is _not_ switching someone's suntan lotion with tanning cream while in Miami." She crossed her arms over her chest, sending Lucille a look, "Especially not three days before said person needs to be the best man at the other person's wedding."

"I know," Lucille said with a nod, "and trust me, Taylor is giving Chad plenty of hell for this. She all but called off the wedding when she found out."

"Good," Gabriella said firmly, "she should be. She should dump his ass for this."

"Mija," Gabriella turned her head sharply to the side, finding her mother sending her a look, "did you dump Troy whenever drew on Chad with that permanent marker he couldn't scrub off?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Mom, that's not the same."

"What about when he shaved Chad's head?"

"Well no, but…"

"How about when he moved Chad's mattress up to the roof where he woke up, fell off, and broke his arm?"

"Mom…"

"My point is, that's what they do," Maria pointed out, "they play idiotic pranks on each other."

"Always have," Lucille pointed out, "always will."

"Especially when they're nervous." Jack piped up, his eyes not straying from his paper he was diligently reading, "Some people drink or relax, they see how close they can get to killing each other without actually doing it."

Gabriella sighed, turning and trudging over towards her mother, pulling her into a tight hug, "Sorry, hi mom."

Maria pulled back and pushed her daughter towards the exit to the kitchen, "Don't 'hi mom' me, go take care of your boyfriend, I know the doctor side of you is dying to fix him," Maria took a step back and yanked open the refrigerator, extracting a Tupperware container, "so fix him."

Gabriella took the container as it was shoved at her, "Mom, if you had some of this, why didn't you give it to Troy?"

Maria raised her eyebrows, "Honey, I'm _not_ going to rub aloe all over my daughter's boyfriend. That's too weird for me." Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Plus," Maria turned and rummaged through her purse, "I have to show Jack and Lucy the cutest…" she turned back around, holding up a tiny gold onesie with 'Lakers' plastered in purple on the front.

Gabriella's eyes widened but Lucille cut her off, "Aw…that's so cute."

Maria nodded at her friend, "And look," she flipped it over to reveal 'Bolton' and the number fourteen on the back, "I didn't even have to personalize it or anything."

Gabriella placed one of her hands on her hip, sending the two women a glare before moving her eyes onto Jack, "Don't look at me," he said immediately, flipping the page of his newspaper, "I know they're crazy."

"We're not crazy." Lucille defended.

"Yeah, wanting grandchildren is not crazy." Maria added.

Gabriella shook her head, sending the two mothers looks, "I'm not pregnant, deal with it." Leaving no room for argument, Gabriella turned and strode out of the kitchen, making a beeline for Troy's first floor bedroom. Gabriella knew in the back of her head that Troy most likely goaded Chad, and Troy probably deserved what he got, but the girlfriend and doctor inside of her was taking precedence inside of her and she couldn't help but be furious with Chad.

His bedroom door was closed and Gabriella carefully and quietly turned the handle, not wanting to wake Troy. Despite that it was after noon, Lucille had told her that since the boys got home two days earlier, Troy had been pretty unsuccessful in sleeping. Lucille had also informed her that Troy had requested to be woken up to come and get her, but when she found him peacefully sleeping that morning, she had bypassed his request to allow him a couple more hours of sleep. Something he desperately needed. The room was dark, the curtains on his patio doors and windows closed, with only the light seeping in behind her lighting up the room and allowing her to locate her boyfriend.

He was asleep, lying on his back in the middle of the bed, and Gabriella was thankful that her mother _hadn't _chosen to come and apply the aloe to Troy's skin, because with the exception of the sheet covering his pelvis, Troy was naked. Glancing behind her, Gabriella stepped inside and closed the door, creeping over to the bed noiselessly. Despite that he looked like a lobster and was most likely in quite a bit of pain, Gabriella couldn't help but smile as she sat down next to him on the mattress. It had been three long months.

"Baby…" Gabriella cooed, trying her best to ease him awake, not sure how mobile he was yet, and not wanting him to shoot up in surprise. Pulling the lid off of the container she had in her hands, she dipped two fingers into the icy concoction, lifting them up and running them along the side of his neck. Troy jerked at the movement, his eyes fluttering open, and Gabriella smiled as blue met brown. He looked disoriented, and at first Gabriella was certain he thought he was dreaming, but as soon as his head snapped to the side, his eyes searching for the time, she knew everything had come back to him.

"Shit!" Troy went to sit up, but stopped when Gabriella placed a hand on his chest, groaning at the pain that shot through him, both from her hand and the sudden movement, "Oh fuck…"

"Lie down," Gabriella ordered in a firm voice, "Troy, you probably have second degree burns, no sudden movements, alright?"

Troy let himself collapse back onto the mattress, a whine emitting through his lips, "My mom _promised _me she'd wake me up to come and get you."

Gabriella smiled at how pathetic he sounded, "She said you were sleeping peacefully. You needed your rest, you still do, don't make me regret waking you up."

Troy shook his head, pushing up slightly from the mattress, "No, we have seven days together, two of which are going to be full with the wedding and wedding preparations, I'll heal later."

Gabriella raised her eyebrows, "You're still going to the wedding?"

"Of course I'm still going to the wedding," Troy managed out as he worked his way up into a sitting position, Gabriella watching him wearily, "if I get angry with him, he wins. If I suddenly get hit with a coughing fit during the time when the preacher asks if there are any objections, I win."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Our parents are right, you two will never grow up." She glanced down once he was upright, doing a once over and checking for any blisters as best she could in the dark, "How badly does it hurt?"

"You got bangs." Troy said, ignoring her question, and Gabriella couldn't help but release a small laugh at his tone. It wasn't surprised, it wasn't happy or sad, it was emotionless and methodical, simply a stating of a fact, "When did you get bangs? Did you tell me you got bangs?"

Gabriella shook her head, "I got them a week ago." She tilted her head to the side, a small smile on her lips, "Do you like them?"

Troy moved his hand up, and Gabriella internally cringed at how warm his fingertips were when they brushed her face. If they were that warm, she hated to think how hot he really was. He brushed her bangs to the side, out of her eyes, studying her face, "Why did you get them?"

The smile fell off of Gabriella's face, "You don't like them, do you?"

"No, no, no," Troy said quickly, shaking his head, "you've just never expressed interest in wanting bangs before now."

Gabriella shrugged, "I thought they'd make me look older."

Troy's brow furrowed, "Older? Why would you want to look older?"

"Look, we've got to get this on your skin," Gabriella held up the cool container, "before it gets warm, now lay back," she dug her hand into her pocket as Troy surrendered and laid back against the mattress, "and take this." Gabriella shoved a large capsule into his hand and Troy looked down at it curiously, "It'll help with pain, because this is going to hurt going on, but once it sinks in, it'll feel good."

Troy popped the pill into his mouth, easily swallowing it without water, "What is it?" he asked, pointing to the container she was stirring with her finger.

"Something my mom used to use on my when I was little. It helps with cooling, itching, and stinging, or at least it always did for me." Gabriella explained. Troy nodded, accepting her explanation, and immediately started pushing up again, "Whoa, whoa, whoa," Gabriella said placing her hand in front of him, stopping him from sitting up, "what are you doing, lay back down."

Troy stopped but didn't move to sit back, sending her a look, "Well, if you won't let me sit up, will you come here so I can kiss you? It has been three months since we've seen each other and you're in doctor mode. I don't want Gabriella the doctor, I want Gabriella my girlfriend."

Gabriella felt a small smile work its way onto her features, "But right now you need me more as the doctor then the girlfriend."

Troy pushed the rest of the way up, ignoring Gabriella's attempts to stop him, and quickly closed the distance between them. Gabriella let her eyes flutter closed when she felt Troy's warm lips on hers, and any resistance she could've put up was futile when she felt his tongue slip into her mouth, "I always need you as my girlfriend." Gabriella smiled but didn't respond, her lips becoming reoccupied with Troy's. She guessed he would have tried something. He was naked with only a sheet covering his lower half, and he wasn't exactly known for keeping his hands to himself whenever she was around. But Gabriella never gave him the chance. Her arms tightened around him as soon as she felt his lips detach from hers, gripping tightly to his now slackened frame. His head had fallen backwards and his mouth was cracked open, a definite sign that he was out.

"Sorry, Troy," Gabriella mumbled as she carefully laid him back against the mattress, "this is going to hurt," she reached up and brushed some of his chestnut colored hair out of his closed eyes, "and it'll work better if you're sedated."

* * *

The house was quiet. Lucille and Jack had retired to their bedroom an hour earlier, and after checking on a still slumbering (sedated) Troy, Gabriella had made herself comfortable in front of the TV, surfing the channels in search of something to watch and coming up with nothing. Popping a kernel from the bowl of popcorn she had popped into her mouth, Gabriella continued flipping through the channels. She had made sure to get plenty of sleep the previous night, not only because she was traveling, but also because after a three month separation, she was sure that Troy had no intention to let her get much sleep, and she was certainly not complaining. However, since her boyfriend couldn't move without an intense pain shooting through his body, it looked like sleep would be something she would be catching up on. But not right now. Right now, she was sitting in front of the TV, begging her eyes to droop while flipping through all the various infomercials.

"…_Los Angeles Lakers stars Troy Bolton, Chad…"_

Gabriella paused in her flipping, her eyes gluing themselves to the Hollywood news show that was playing to find her boyfriend's face staring back at her

"…_Danforth and Zeke Baylor spent a little time out in the sun this past weekend,"_ the female reporter went onto explain, flashing to pictures of Troy, Chad, and Zeke on the beach, some of them surfing, some of them laying out or simply swimming in the water, _"it looked to be a guys day out, no signs of Chad's fiancé, high profile attorney Taylor McKessie, whom he is to wed this weekend, nor Zeke's wife, actress/singer Sharpay Evans-Baylor. The boys were in town for a game in which the Lakers beat the Miami Heat 112-98."_

"And Troy Bolton's long time girlfriend," Gabriella continued, mocking the reporter's voice, "was in Baltimore working her ass off at a two year internship her boyfriend forced her to take because he didn't want to hold her back." Gabriella rolled her eyes, continuing on her pursuit for something to watch, "Or marry her."

Gabriella jumped as a loud thump sounded through the house, her head snapping over in the direction it sounded from, her eyes widening when she realized it was Troy's bedroom. Gabriella was up in an instant, rushing over towards his closed bedroom door and throwing it open, expecting to find someone trying to kidnap her incapacitated boyfriend and freezing when she found something completely different. Troy was on the floor, his boxers halfway up his legs, a mixture of agitation and anger on his face when he found Gabriella standing in the doorway. Maybe she should've given him a stronger sedative.

Still, Gabriella smiled, "Troy, you're…"

"You drugged me!" Troy interrupted her roughly, his tone harsh with an undertone of disbelief, "You _drugged_ me!" he repeated slowly as he pushed up from the ground, Gabriella snorting as she caught sight of how white his butt appeared in relation to the rest of his skin. He finished pulling up his boxers and began walking towards her, "This isn't funny. What is funny?"

Troy stopped in front of her and Gabriella reached around to pull down the side of his boxers, "How white were you?"

Troy smacked away her hand and pointed his finger in her face, "You drugged me!"

Gabriella nodded, "I drugged you."

Troy's eyebrows shot up and his face was overtaken in surprise, as though he had some partial doubt to whether it had been her before, "I cannot believe you!" he almost yelled, his voice reaching a higher octave, "I have drug tests I have to pass every week, you know what this could do to me?"

Gabriella held up her hand, "Troy, it won't show up on tox screens, it's natural."

"That's not the point," Troy continued quickly, "you _forced_ something onto me without giving me the facts, you _lied_ to me and told me it was a pain killer, you gave it to me _against my will_!" Troy took a step back and placed his hands on his hips, "You practically raped me with this medicine."

Gabriella sent him a look, "Troy, I didn't…"

"No, Gabriella, you violated me!"

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Okay, Troy, first off, I didn't force it on you, you were a willing participant and were glad to take it."

"That's because I thought it was a painkiller!" Troy yelled, and Gabriella momentarily wondered if Jack or Lucille could hear them, "What kind of girlfriend sedates her boyfriend?"

Gabriella bit her lip, "The kind that doesn't want to see him in pain." She glanced down, taking note of how freely he was moving, "Which you no longer seem to be in." Troy looked down, his attention momentarily diverted from their fight to take in the fact that he _didn't _hurt. He lifted up his hand and squeezed it into a fist, something he hadn't been able to do earlier without pain. Gabriella reached out and rested her hand on his arm, caressing the skin softly, "You're cool now," she moved her hand up to the side of his face, "I bet you don't even have a fever anymore."

She almost won him over, his brain filled with the fact that he was no longer in pain and forgetting that it was Gabriella's deception that led to it. Almost. Troy jerked away from her hand and stuck his finger back in her face, reminding Gabriella of little kid who was accusing someone of a crime, "No, okay? No! That doesn't matter, you still drugged me!"

Gabriella groaned, "Troy, it was for your own good."

"Oh, really?" Troy asked sarcastically, "What else did you do to me for my own good?" he asked rhetorically, "Should I check to make sure I have both of my kidneys?"

Gabriella looked up to the ceiling, a smile gracing her lips at how ridiculous he was being, "No, Troy, you're…"

"I'm going for a swim." Troy said defiantly, "And you better put on something fucking sexy and get your ass out there, because you have a _lot_ of making up to do."

Gabriella opened her mouth to retort but was cut off as Troy turned and stormed over to his ensuite bathroom and slammed the door. Gabriella pursed her lips for a moment before turning and walking over to her duffle bag, "You give a person _one_ little sedative…"

* * *

He had stormed out into the bedroom, rummaged around the drawers as though she wasn't even in the room, and practically ran out of the bedroom a good fifteen minutes earlier, and Gabriella was biding her time, giving him a chance to cool down in the water. Both figuratively and literally. Making a pit stop to snag one of the cupcakes Lucille had bought from the store, Gabriella pulled the Scooby Doo shaped plastic ring off of the top and licked the part covered in icing before sliding it onto her pinkie. The cupcake would serve as a good icebreaker, Troy had a soft spot for sweets, and since her mother's brownies weren't available, she'd settle for cupcakes.

Gabriella pushed open the door, making her way out into the backyard, tugging at the straps of her white bikini, already feeling uncomfortable, despite that it was midnight and the only person seeing her in it would be her boyfriend. Gabriella was not a swimsuit kind of girl. She liked to swim, but she hated showing off her body. At the gym, she'd wear the most unflattering one piece when she'd swim laps and only at Jack and Lucille's house, or Troy's house, would she ever be caught in a bikini. It wasn't particularly revealing, a typical halter style top with a low cut bottom that tied at her hips, but for Gabriella she was pretty much naked. Something she would only ever be in front of Troy.

He was enjoying the cool of the water, evident from the content look covering his face as he floated in the pool, his entire body submerged with only his head above water. The pool was a new addition to the Bolton house. A few years ago, Troy had pulled his hamstring in some off season games, and instead of recuperating in LA where the paparazzi followed his every move, he had chosen to come home and do it. He was planning on getting his own apartment, but his mother had had the pool installed so that he had no excuse to not live with them where she could watch over him at all times. Needless to say, Gabriella had gotten a whole lot of extended visits from Troy during that time.

Reaching the pool, Gabriella began ascending the steps, catching the twitch in Troy's smile, indicating that he knew she was there. "I brought a peace offering." Gabriella said, reaching the end of the steps and inhaling sharply as her lower half became immersed in the cool water, "Oh, god, it's freezing!"

"Hmm," Troy started, still not opening his eyes, "maybe you should sedate yourself so you can't feel it."

Gabriella groaned, continuing to near him, "I'm _sorry_, okay? I know it was wrong, but I just didn't want to have to see you in pain, especially not pain that I caused." Gabriella stopped in front of him and held out the cupcake, "Forgive me?" Troy opened his eyes and studied the cupcake in front of his face, keeping his mouth shut, "For Chad and Taylor?" Troy moved his gaze onto her, "You know that they'd be really pissed if the maid of honor and best man were mad at each other."

"Each other?" Troy asked, "Why would you be mad at me?"

Gabriella sent him a look, "Because you're getting mad at me for doing something that I literally do every day, heal people."

"No, I'm mad at you for sedating me," Troy reached up and snatched the cupcake from her, "what's this laced with, tranquilizers?"

Gabriella scoffed, tilting her head slightly as she stared at him, "You know what, forget it, I'm going to bed."

Gabriella turned and began making her way back to the steps, but Troy reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop, "No, you promised to make it up to me."

"Yeah, well you're acting like a jackass," Gabriella told him, and it was easy to see the tears swimming in her eyes, "and I don't much feel like making it up to you."

"Gabriella, you _sedated_ me," Troy told her, as if she didn't already know, "if I sedated you, I wouldn't be walking right now and you know it."

"I just didn't want you to be in pain," Gabriella told him, "is it such a bad thing that I'd choose to watch the guy I love sleep peacefully rather then writhe in pain?"

Troy sighed, he rarely could stay mad at her, "Well, you could've asked or warned me."

"If I'd have asked you, you would've said no." Gabriella pointed out, "And if I'd have warned you, you'd still be mad." She pursed her lips and her face took on a very familiar puppy dog look that he knew she knew he couldn't resist, "I'm sorry Troy, I really am."

Troy sighed and glanced down at the cupcake in his hand, "I suppose it is a pretty nice cupcake."

Gabriella felt a smile split onto her features and she took a step forward to hug him, but quickly retracted when she remembered his sunburn, "Oh, I probably shoul…"

"Its fine," Troy said cutting her off, "I'm sure a hug won't hurt." Gabriella quickly resumed her actions and wrapped her arms around his torso, resting her head on his chest while he snaked his arms around her. "This is not really the way I pictured our reunion."

Gabriella turned her head up to look at him, "Well, maybe if you and Chad wouldn't provoke each other, things like this wouldn't happen."

Troy nodded his head, as though he was agreeing with her, "True. But if he didn't do things like this, I couldn't pretend to be really drunk during my best man speech." He grinned, "Or show pictures from college."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Chad's gonna hit you."

Troy pulled back and moved to the side of the pool, setting the cupcake on the concrete, "Actually, I'm anticipating that Taylor will be the one to hit me, Chad will just laugh."

Troy took her hands under the water and yanked her down a little ways into the pool, Gabriella gasping as the cool water attacked the skin that had yet to be submerged, "You don't want your cupcake?" she asked, trying to divert her mind from her shivering body.

Troy picked up on how cold she was and instantly pulled her into him, "I do, but chlorine and cupcakes don't really mix, trust me."

Gabriella's brow furrowed and she sent him a curious look, "Do I really want to know?"

"Nope."

Gabriella laughed and shook her head before lifting up her left hand to reveal the ring on her pinkie finger, "But it came with this cool ring?"

Troy inspected the ring, "It is pretty cool. Scooby Doo's pretty much the coolest talking dog ever. _Maybe_ even the coolest dog ever."

"Because I sedated you," Gabriella started, pulling the ring off of her finger, "even though I did it to heal you and it turned out better in the long run for you," Troy rolled his eyes, "I'll let you have this awesome ring."

Gabriella reached for Troy's right hand under water, beginning to pull it up, only to have Troy yank it back down, "Not that one." Troy said quickly, Gabriella looking up at him suspiciously, "My right hand got pretty badly burned," he held up his left hand, "here."

Gabriella nodded and moved to slide the ring onto his pinkie, "I hope it gets better quickly, how long do you guys have to take off?"

"Coach gave me and Zeke a week off," Troy told her, watching as Gabriella tried to push the ring past his knuckle to no avail, "Chad gets an additional week off for his Honeymoon, but we have to be back next Monday."

Gabriella sighed, "Me too, but in a few weeks I'm going to be flying to LA, I have an interview at Cedars Sinai, and while the job doesn't start until summer, they are starting interview super early." She bit her lip, "I think they're really interested in me."

"Of course they are," Troy said with a smile, "you graduated in six years from Yale with a medical degree, you did a two year residency at Johns Hopkins, and you have bangs that make you look older, how could they _not _be interested in you."

Gabriella grinned sheepishly as she tried to hide the blush on her cheeks, "Troy…"

"So what's the deal with these bangs," Troy started, switching the subject, "is it something you got on impulse and are now just waiting for it to grow out? Or is it something you want to maintain? Something you'd want pictures of yourself with?"

Gabriella shrugged, "I don't know. I don't really have the time to maintain them, so I'll most likely let them grow out, why?"

"I don't know." Troy said quickly looking down before holding up his left hand, "I don't think it's going to fit." Gabriella pouted as she watched him yank it off of his finger, "But you can wear it for me."

Gabriella smiled as he grabbed her hand to replace the ring, "I'll protect it with my life," Troy smirked at her mocking tone, "when the doctors tell me to take it off because I need to scrub in, I'll refuse."

He lifted her hands up and wrapped them around his neck once he replaced the ring on her third finger, moving his hands to rest on her lower back, "I expect nothing less." He lifted up his finger to reveal the plastic Scooby ring, "But not with this one," he moved his head backwards, as if pointing to her hands, "that one."

Gabriella tilted her head, unlatching her hands to reveal her left hand, causing her eyes to nearly bug out of her head when she spotted the ring now adorning her third finger. The ring was white gold with a one and a half caret princess cut diamond sitting in the middle of the antique style diamond encrusted band. Despite that it was dark and only the pool and porch lights were fighting that darkness, the way the light was hitting it made it look gorgeous. Oh god, this was an engagement ring.

"Gabriella Montez," Troy started off softly, "the moment I…"

"YES!" Troy stumbled backwards as Gabriella flung herself at him, her arms tightening around his neck, her legs locking around his waist, and her lips pressing firmly to his, stopping any further conversation from happening between the pair.

Troy didn't really know what to do, his eyes still open as Gabriella continued to kiss him, "Um…" he murmured out between kisses, "I, um, had a long speech…"

"Save it for later." Gabriella cut him off again, "Save it for when I'm mad at you, or something."

Troy cracked a smile, "Okay, but I do really want to actually ask you." Gabriella pursed her lips, trying to suppress her smile, and nodded approvingly, "I'd get down on one knee, but I'd drown and take you with me."

"Understandable. It's too corny anyways," she laughed, "but you do love corny." She glanced down, "Oh god, I'm not hurting you, am I?"

"Gabriella Montez," Troy started, ignoring her question, "I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

Gabriella was smiling so widely she thought her face might split in half, "My head is really telling me that this would be the perfect opportunity for me to mess with you and say no, but I'm too excited to say anything but yes." Gabriella leaned in quickly and seized his lips, "Yes." She mumbled, "Yes, yes, yes…" she resolved into giggles as Troy deepened the kiss, parting her lips with his tongue.

"I love you." Troy whispered between kisses.

Gabriella pulled back, licking her lips instinctively, "I love you, too." she laughed quietly, "Who would have thought we'd go from me sedating you to you proposing to me?"

Troy smiled, "I don't remember if I said it, but I do forgive you." Gabriella grinned before leaning in for another kiss, "But just because I forgive you," she paused as he continued talking, "doesn't mean payback isn't coming."

Gabriella tilted her head, "What are you…" Gabriella stopped when she felt herself falling backwards, "No, Troy, no…" Troy, however, silenced her by pressing his lips to hers, swallowing her squeals as the pair fell back into the cool water.


	2. The Surprise

**A/N: I'd just like to start off by saying that this chapter was a bitch. It is long, it is complex, and I'm not sure it ended up turning out the way I wanted it too. Special thanks goes out to Kelly, Dani, Abby, and Nel. Without their constant ****nagging/****support, I might never have finished this chapter. Warning, this is a rather angsty chapter. My goal, when I write these sort of things, is to portray the characters as real (well, as real as Troy and Gabriella can be). As much as I love happy fluff and stories that portray Gabriella and Troy as perfect individuals, that's unrealistic. If I'm gonna write fanfiction, I'm gonna write real fanfiction, and in real life, couples fight.**

**In brighter news, there is another chapter coming. I'm working on it as fast as I can. Hopefully it won't take as long as this one did.**

**Thanks, read and review. I love hearing your feedback!**

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Troy Bolton was a laidback individual. With his career and the life he had chosen for himself, he had to be, there was just no way around it. With his career, he lived a fast pace life, whether or not he was in the season. He had games. When he didn't have games, he had practice. When he didn't have practice or games, he had press conferences, endorsement deals, and traveling to different countries for off-season promotional duties and games. His job kept him on his toes. It wasn't abnormal for him to receive a call at nine at night and be expected on a plane the next day, nor was it abnormal that his schedule was altered twelve or thirteen times a day. Time off was scheduled in. Vacations were scheduled in. His life was a schedule, and in order for his schedule to not drive him insane, Troy needed to be a laidback individual.

And that didn't even include the fact that he was engaged to a woman who lived three thousand miles away from him and had just as hectic of a life as he did.

Gabriella's lived her life moment to moment. Being a doctor, she never knew what kind of emergency would be wheeled into the room, what kind of wound she would be attempting to heal, and despite having a set time she was _supposed_ to get off, it wasn't odd for her to work ten to fifteen hours of overtime a week. Scheduling wasn't something she could do. Predicting wasn't something she could do. And because she was constantly guessing where her life would turn next, like Troy, she was also a laidback individual.

Most of the time.

She hated the distance with Troy. Not being able to fall asleep in his arms each night, wake up next to him every morning, kiss him whenever she wanted too, and tell him about her day without the use of telephones, planes, or webcams was awful. She missed him more then words could possibly convey, and she was terribly excited for her move in July to LA following the completion of her residency at Johns Hopkins.

Again, most of the time.

This wasn't supposed to happen. Gabriella was _not_ supposed to turn into this. Everything was supposed to be laidback and easygoing. Just like her and Troy. Maybe fifty people. Maybe have it in the church where Troy's parents were married in Albuquerque. Maybe in a park. Something simple, something traditional, something that fit the personalities of the people involved.

Not this.

Her normally elegant Baltimore apartment looked like a disaster area. It looked like a tornado swept through her third floor, two bedroom apartment and decided to leave a trail of white lace and tulle in its path. Her normally beige walls were covered with sketches of dresses, squares of fabrics, and pictures of various churches and floral arrangement. She had books upon books of wedding tips lining her carpet, and desk had been pushed out of her office to serve as the central brain of this entire operation.

It wasn't her fault. She repeated that over and over again, it wasn't her fault. Following an intense argument between her and Troy over who was going to pay for the wedding, the pair flipped a coin and Troy won. Then, after handing her his black American Express card, he said the magic words that he would forever regret.

"_Do whatever you want."_

It was straight downhill after that. Especially once news of their engagement broke to the press. Everyone wanted to be involved in the Lakers' hot shot's wedding, and everyone was willing to bend over backwards to accommodate her in whatever she wanted. Exotic flowers, designer dresses, free shoes! It was enough to break any woman, and Gabriella was no different. She went from the laidback fiancé of Troy Bolton, to bridezilla faster then you could say Vera Wang, and with her apartment becoming ground zero for the wedding planning, she was happy that Troy was across the country.

Not that he wasn't involved. Troy had made it perfectly clear from the beginning that he was not going to be one of those kinds of grooms. This was as much his wedding as it was hers, and while he knew he probably wouldn't care what color tablecloth they used at the reception or whether or not they did pictures before or after the ceremony, he wanted to be involved. So she had been involving him. They set the date together, she learned what color scheme he wanted to go with, and periodically he had been giving her his ideas. However, she was certain that Troy thought that they were still in the early planning stages of the wedding.

If only he knew.

Today was her day off. Something rare in the life of Gabriella. She hated to sound terribly antisocial, but the truth of the matter was that she didn't really have many friends in Baltimore. She had, of course, her friends in LA, and she had a few other friends from Yale that had jobs along the east coast, but in Baltimore, the doctors and nurses she worked with were her friends, and the easiest way to see her friends was to work. So she worked. All the time. It was annoying at times, but it helped time pass by quickly, she just hadn't realized _how_ quickly until she woke up one morning and realized it was June. Normally, June was not a bad thing. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, and summer was in full gear. People were kinder and took everything a little bit slower. Normally, Gabriella loved June. She _still_ loved June. She just hated how fast June had come, because now that June was here, it meant August was right around the corner, and if August was almost here, that meant August tenth was almost here.

And August tenth was the day that Troy and Gabriella were due to get married.

Troy and Gabriella had had many long discussions about what date they wanted their wedding to be on. Troy wanted a simple date that was easy to remember. Gabriella wanted a meaningful date that meant something to the couple. And both wanted something that worked with their schedules. Many dates had been thrown around. Part of Gabriella really wanted to get married on New Year's Eve just simply because of how special that day was for the pair. But Troy's traveling quickly debunked any dates between September and May. Given that he could be anywhere at any time, and while he could ask for some time off, he'd rather be able to devote himself completely to the wedding and not squeeze it in between practices. Many more scheduling problems were diverted and avoided before the pair finally decided that August would be the best time for the wedding. Given that her residency at Johns Hopkins wasn't up until the beginning of July, and Troy's training for the season began at the beginning of September, August seemed like the perfect month. That way, Troy and Gabriella could take their honeymoon wherever and whenever they wanted too without having to worry about rushing back. August was perfect.

Or at least it had been.

It had been until Gabriella found herself taken under the wing of one of the senior attendings at the hospital in an attempt to woo her to stay at Johns Hopkins. And that led to her working anywhere from 80-90 hour work weeks, which led to many nights where she would just fall asleep in the on call room, not bothering to go home. She planned the wedding when she could, but as of late, that was getting less and less. And about two weeks earlier, Gabriella woke up to find herself on the brink of May, just about to enter June, without a wedding dress.

_Without_ a wedding dress!

Gabriella had panicked. It had been about three in the morning when she had called Taylor, freaking out, and in only the way Taylor could, Gabriella suddenly found herself with a plan. A plan that included two days off in which she would scour every wedding dress store within a hundred mile radius, determined to find the perfect dress. A plan that was supposed to be executed today.

_Supposed_ to be.

Gabriella's apartment was alarmingly silent. No cell phones were ringing, no emails were dinging, the lid of the laptop was shut, and the dress magazines that had been spread all over her living room for the past two weeks were shut and piled neatly on her desk. It was a stark contrast to what the apartment usually looked like whenever Gabriella was home, and if it wasn't for the petite brunette pacing the living room, it would be safe to assume she wasn't.

She was dressed to go wedding dress shopping. Wearing her walking shoes, a pair of comfortable jeans that clung to her curves, and a white camisole with a scoop neckline, it was obvious that she was going for comfort. And with her purse sitting on the couch next to a list of dress stores she planned on hitting that day, it was odd that she would still be there. Incredibly odd.

Gabriella stopped pacing for a moment, sighing loudly as she brought her hand up to run through her hair, something she had picked up from Troy. What the hell was she going to do?

The phone shrilled through the quiet apartment, and Gabriella lunged herself at it, pulling it up to her ear as quickly as she possibly could, "Hello?"

"_Hey babe, I got your message, what's up?"_

Gabriella felt a wave of relief come over her, "Sharpay," she breathed out, "oh thank god, where are you?"

"_I'm just getting back from shopping,"_ her voice was weary at first, but then she gasped, her perkiness returning quickly, _"I found the cutest pair of heels. I mean, they weren't exactly cheap or on sale, but Zekey's gonna _love_…"_

"I'm five weeks late!" Gabriella blurted out before slapping her hand over her mouth, as though she had just said the worst thing she could possibly say. Her breathing was ragged and her eyes were wide, she hadn't meant to say it like that.

There was a silence on the other end, and at first, Gabriella wasn't sure that Sharpay heard her, _"Five weeks late,"_ Sharpay repeated, her voice tactfully even, _"please tell me you mean you're four weeks late on your deposit for something for the wedding?"_ Gabriella bit her lip, _"Perhaps a credit bill or rented movie?"_

Gabriella shook her head, despite that Sharpay couldn't see her, "No." Sharpay stayed silent and Gabriella cleared her throat before continuing, "I woke up this morning to get ready to go dress shopping, and it was really the first time in weeks that I really had a moment to stop and think." Gabriella explained quickly, speaking as fast as she could, "And I was going through stuff about the wedding, whether or not I wanted to try a spray tan, if I should just do it the old fashion way and lay out at a pool, where I should go to get my nails done. Then I got to my period and how I was hoping it would come right on time so it wouldn't interfere with the wedding," she paused, swallowing the baseball size lump in her throat, "and that was when it hit me that I hadn't had it last month and I'm a week late this month."

"_FIVE WEEKS? YOU'RE FIVE WEEKS LATE?"_

Gabriella jumped, causing the phone to tumble out of her hands and down onto the floor, despite her attempts to stop it. It skidded to a stop on the carpet, and for a second, as Gabriella listened to Sharpay's screams through the speaker, she considered just leaving it on the floor and seeing if she noticed. Deciding that the rant from Sharpay would be easier to take now rather then later, Gabriella carefully retrieved the phone and lifted it back up to her ear.

"…_you went to fucking Yale for god's sake, and you couldn't figure out you were pregnant? Five weeks? Gabriella, five weeks?"_

"I know," Gabriella started, "but…"

"_Don't 'but' me, I am not finished!"_ Sharpay spit out, _"How could you be so irresponsible, Gabriella? How easy do you think it'll be to find a designer wedding dress to fit a pregnant lady?"_

For a moment, Gabriella was stunned. That was certainly not what she expected Sharpay to say, "Umm…"

"_And do you have any idea what pregnancy does to feet?" _Sharpay continued hastily,_ "Shoes do not stretch, Gabriella!"_

"Y-You're worried about my shoes?" Gabriella asked, confusion laced in her tone.

"_Not just any shoes,"_ Sharpay clarified, _"Christian Louboutin shoes. Your something new, remember?"_

Gabriella released a small laugh, "So let me get this straight, I tell you I might have a human being growing inside of me, and you're worried about shoes?"

Her tone was most definitely harsh, but harsh didn't even begin to faze Sharpay, _"Trust me, any child that is half Troy's, will not be human."_

Gabriella scoffed, running a hand through her long dark curls, "You know what, I called my _best friend_ because I'm a little scared right now. Troy told me he did _not _want kids until he was at least thirty. I agreed with him. This is _not _part of the plan." Tears were invading her voice, despite her efforts to fight them, "I _called_ for a little support here, and all you managed to do was take me from scared to pissed off in five minutes, goodbye."

Gabriella didn't even give Sharpay the chance to respond before she hit the end button, effectively hanging up on her friend. Gabriella looked ragged. Anyone who was used to the usually perky brunette looking very well put together, would be questioning her tangled curls and dried tearstains on her face that were blurred by the new tears that began slipping down her cheeks. What was she going to do?

It was a question that had been plaguing her mind since her lack of period had popped into her mind. What the _hell_ was she going to do? She wasn't lying to Sharpay, she and Troy had had a very intimate conversation about children not that long ago and he had expressed that at this point in both of their lives, he wanted to be a husband and then a professional basketball player, just as she wanted to be a wife and then a doctor. Being a parent just wasn't part of the equation for Troy. He knew one day it would be, and she knew that he wanted to be a father, but not right now. And she had agreed with him. Gabriella did want children, and she couldn't deny that there had been more then one occasion where she could picture an adorable blue eyed baby with messy uncontrollable hair just like his father, but she could see where Troy was coming from. And to be honest, children worked like sex. When she wasn't ready to have sex, they weren't ready to have sex. And when he wasn't ready to have a baby, they weren't ready to have a baby.

The phone began ringing in her hand again, signaling that Gabriella wasn't going to be able to just curl up into a ball and die. Squeezing her eyes shut a little tighter, Gabriella released a few more tears just before the phone reached her ear, all she could do right now was pray it wasn't Troy. "Hello?" she croaked into the receiver, hoping that whoever it was would take grogginess as an excuse for how awful her voice sounded.

There was a beat of silence, _"You said you were five weeks late."_

Gabriella attempted to blink away the tears as she focused on Sharpay's comment, "What?"

"_You didn't say you're pregnant, you just said you were five weeks late. Does that mean you haven't taken the test?"_

Gabriella nodded, "Mm-hmm."

Sharpay sighed, _"Okay, first things first, we need to know whether or not you're pregnant. What else do you have planned for today?"_

Gabriella reached up, wiping the tears from her eyes, "I was supposed to be looking for my wedding dress, I still haven't been able to find one."

"_We'll worry about that later,"_ she said dismissively, _"now I want you to go to the store, get a pregnancy test, and call me back when you get home, I'll be on my way to Baltimore as soon as I can get daddy's plane gassed and ready."_

Gabriella shook her head, "No, Shar…"

"_Gabs,"_ Sharpay interrupted firmly, _"this isn't something you do alone. I'll get packed, I'll get Taylor, and we'll be on our way."_

"No, Shar, listen," Gabriella pleaded, "if you and Taylor just disappear, Troy will be suspicious, I can't have him suspicious, not yet."

"_We'll be discrete,"_ Sharpay assured her, _"Troy will be in the dark, trust me."_

_

* * *

_

"Do you ever get the feeling you're being left in the dark?"

Zeke paused in pulling his shirt over his head and cast his brunette friend a look of confusion, "What?"

"Do you ever get the feeling you're being left in the dark?" Troy repeated sitting down on the concrete bench lining the purple and gold locker room of the Staples Center, "Like, that everyone knows something you don't?"

Zeke finished pulling his sleeveless blue shirt over his black workout shorts, frowning at his friend's question, "Well…I am now."

Troy rolled his eyes pulling one of his tennis shoes onto his feet, "Not about you, about me."

Zeke sat down on the bench across from his friend, copying his actions by pulling on his own tennis shoes. During the off season, practice wasn't as intense as it usually was, but out of habit (and also because Troy was a workout-aholic) on the days they didn't have practice, Troy, Chad, and Zeke would meet and lift weights in team gym.

"It's the wedding," Troy continued, dropping his foot to the ground once he finished tying both of his shoes, "I just get this feeling that everything isn't as it seems."

Zeke furrowed his eyebrows, "I'm not Chad, so I am better at this feeling thing, but I'm not that good. Explain yourself."

Troy sighed, "I told Gabriella I wanted to be involved in this. This is _our_ wedding, and we're only doing this once, so I want to remember it for the rest of our live. Like, remember it remember it. Not remember how I was sitting on the couch while she was out finding the church and stuff." Zeke nodded his head in understanding, "But so far, I've contributed nothing. And, I know she keeps telling me she hasn't planned much, but I don't buy it. I mean, Gabriella's not Sharpay, but she's still a girl. Girls love this shit."

Zeke raised his eyebrows, "So you think you're being left in the dark?"

Troy nodded, "I think I'm being left in the dark." He confirmed, "I think Gabriella's going to move back here, and suddenly it will be like 'surprise, the whole wedding's planned', and that's just not really how I want it."

Zeke shrugged, "Then tell her. It's you that's paying for the wedding, you should have a say."

Troy pointed at Zeke, "See, but that's what she wants me to say. She wants me to use the money thing so that she could say 'see Troy, I knew you were going to use the money thing', and then _she'll _insist on paying, and then I won't have any say!"

Zeke narrowed her eyes, "Chad's right, you are a girl trapped in a guy's body."

Troy groaned throwing his head back, "Didn't you have this problem with Sharpay?"

Zeke laughed, pushing up from the bench, "Dude, what made you think I had _any_ say in the wedding at all? My wife had the thing planned out since she was born, I didn't stand a chance to integrate anything I wanted into it." Troy's shoulders sunk and Zeke laughed at how defeated he looked, "Troy, talk to her. This is Gabs we're talking about. She's not bridezilla, in fact, I'm sure she hasn't done much on the whole wedding front period."

Troy pushed up, "Well, if she hasn't, we're fucked, because our wedding's in two months, and I haven't thought of shit."

Chad breezed into the locker room, still dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, not stopping to glance at the two as he made a beeline for his locker, "Man, something's up with your wife."

Zeke rolled his eyes, "Something's _always_ up with my wife."

Chad pulled his shirt over his head, "No, but this time, it's weird." He pulled a sleeveless shirt over his curls, pulling them down briefly before they bounced back into place, "She called me, _she_ called me, not Taylor, but _Sharpay_ called me and told me that she and Taylor were planning on leaving the country."

Troy's face scrunched up in confusion, "What?"

Chad shrugged his shoulders as he pushed down his jeans, kicking them off, "I don't know, that's just what she said, and when I started asking questions, she hung up on me."

Zeke moved his shoulders in indifference, "I don't know why you're surprised, to our wives, we're nobodies. Just their husbands, no big deal."

Troy grinned, "I'm still somebody."

Zeke sent him a look, "How's that wedding going?"

Troy's face fell, "Fine, I'm nobody." He said dejectedly, "But of the three of us, I'm the closest one to being somebody!"

Zeke rolled his eyes, returning his gaze to an almost fully dressed Chad, purposely ignoring Troy, "Sharpay's antics no longer shock me, and really, they shouldn't shock you either."

A ringing pierced through their conversation, and Zeke immediately began digging in his pocket, extracting his phone. He didn't even hesitate to put it on speaker phone when he saw his wife's name on the screen, "Hey Shar."

"_Oh my god, baby, I am…you won't…I can't…"_ she paused, breathing deeply, trying to form a coherent statement, _"Who are you with?" _Sharpay asked hurriedly, her voice lower, as though she was hiding a huge secret.

Zeke glanced at Chad and Troy, "Nobody." He shot Troy a grin which he sent back in a mocking fashion. "Babe," Zeke started, glancing down at the phone, "what's wrong, you sound…"

"_Gabriella's pregnant!"_

Sharpay's statement was intended for Zeke's ears only, given by her voice reaching an octave barely audible to humans. It was the voice she used when she was stressed out, nervous, or worried. Basically it was her vulnerable voice, and Sharpay Evans-Baylor was never vulnerable to _anyone_ but her husband.

There was a sharp intake of breath once Sharpay's words filtered through the air and reached, not only two more sets of ears then it was supposed to, but one particular set which was _never_ supposed to find out. Not yet, at least. Zeke's eyes had widened when they processed her statement, and just as quickly as the words had filtered through his head had they filtered through Troy's head, obvious by the shocked look Zeke found him with. Chad was also shocked, and he had stilled his movements to stare at the tiny object in Zeke's hands as if it was crazy.

"What?" Zeke managed out, keeping his eyes on Troy who was staring straight in front of him, but by the unfocused nature of his eyes, most likely was not staring.

"_You heard me,"_ Sharpay retorted, _"Gabriella's pregnant."_

Zeke swallowed, praying against all hope that Sharpay was already on her way to wherever she was going, and unable to reach him before he could apologize a million times, "I should clarify," he croaked out, "w-when I said nobody, I actually meant Chad and Troy."

It was Sharpay's turn to inhale sharply, and Zeke could see his wife slapping her hand over her mouth, as though she had just said the dirtiest thing in the world. _"Shit,"_ she cursed, _"shit, shit, shit, shit. Zeke! How could you let me say that with him there?"_

"What do you mean 'let you say it'?" Zeke shot back, "How was I supposed to know that you were delivering life altering news on a day you _knew_ I'd be hanging out with Troy and Chad?"

"_Knew you were hanging out with Troy and Chad?"_ Sharpay reiterated, _"When _don't_ you hang out with Troy and Chad. Besides sex, you three don't even need me, Taylor, or Gabriella. You have your basketball and each other."_

"Hey, that it not fair!" Zeke barked back.

"_Oh, right, I forgot your little cooking."_

"I _bake_!" Zeke's rant fell short on his lips when his attention was diverted away from his incorrigible wife and onto Troy who had abruptly turned away from the group and began heading out of the locker room. "Troy, where are you going?"

"Troy!" Chad called after him, attempting to stop their friend, with no avail.

"_Troy?"_ Sharpay asked over the phone, _"He's walking away? Follow him!"_

Neither Zeke nor Chad needed to be told twice, propelling themselves down the hallway after Troy, "Hoops," Chad called, instinctively slipping into the old nickname, "dude, where…"

Chad had attempted to slow Troy down by grabbing onto his arm, however, Troy took Chad completely off guard when he turned and gripped Chad by the arms, staring at him with wide fearful eyes, "Someone knocked up my girlfriend," Troy stated in a low, calm voice, "I am going to find out who knocked up my girlfriend." Troy shut his eyes, slightly shaking his head, "Fiancé, my fiancé." He blinked, "Maybe."

Chad was staring at Troy as if he had a third head, "Dude, I'm pretty sure you did."

Troy shook his head, "No, I couldn't have. I haven't _seen_ her since April, and unless you can get pregnant via webcam, it ain't mine!"

"_Ew," _Chad and Troy's heads snapped over to the cell phone as Sharpay spoke up, _"I've used your laptop, that's gross!"_

Troy let go of Chad and snatched the phone from Zeke, "Sharpay, tell me the name of that fucker who's been screwing my girlfriend?"

"_You."_

Troy groaned, "Look, Sharpay, I don't…"

"_She's five weeks pregnant, Troy." _Sharpay interrupted him, _"Do the math, it's yours."_

Troy paused for a moment, mentally going back in time, "Five weeks?" his voice was higher then he had intended for it to be, "Five weeks?" he repeated in a deeper tone, "She's a doctor, five weeks without a period and she didn't find that odd?"

Sharpay sighed, _"Look, Troy, you weren't even supposed to find out…"_

"Oh, great," Troy interrupted sarcastically, "the baby's half mine but _I'm _not supposed to find out?"

"_Cause it's not like you'd overreact or anything, right?"_ she tossed back, just as sarcastically, _"Look, I called to tell my husband that I'm flying to see your fiancé who is currently scared out of her mind because she knows you don't want children."_

"I never said I didn't want children." Troy told her firmly, "I just said I didn't want them yet, and she agreed."

"_Well she didn't climb on top of herself and get pregnant,"_ Sharpay bit back, _"good god, Troy, grow up."_ For a moment Troy forgot his anger and his eyebrows shot up at Sharpay's rough tone, _"You don't want kids, stop sticking your dick in girls."_

Troy's eyebrows knitted together in disbelief, "Hey, I…" Troy was cut off by the unmistakable click of Sharpay hanging up her phone. Troy was taken aback, and for a moment, he just stood there, his mouth ajar and his hand holding Zeke's phone.

But only for a moment.

Zeke was almost knocked off of his feet as Troy shoved the phone back into his chest, barreling away from Zeke and Chad, his gaze solely focused on the locker room he was bounding towards. "Troy," Chad said wearily, taking off after his friend, "Troy, what are you…"

"Why wouldn't she tell me?" Troy cut him off, reaching his locker and grabbing his bag from inside, "Why the _hell_ wouldn't she tell me? She is five weeks pregnant, we are supposed to be able to tell each other _everything_, we're getting _married_ for god's sake, why wouldn't she tell me?"

"Maybe Sharpay's right," Zeke suggested, having followed the pair, "maybe it was just because she thought you'd overreact."

"Or maybe she _was_ going to tell you," Chad suggested, "maybe Sharpay just got to you first. You know Gabriella, she's a thinker, she probably was just planning this elaborate way to tell you, let it slip to Sharpay, and she spilled the beans. You know Gabriella, she'd never…"

"Lie to me," Troy finished for him, turning his hardened gaze on Chad, "keep a secret from me, _sedate_ me? Because she's done all three."

Troy took off towards the exit to the parking lot, Chad centimeters behind him, "You know, that whole sedation thing was really for your own good…"

Troy spun around to face him and stuck his finger into Chad's chest, "Five weeks is not fucking nothing!" he moved his hand up to present two fingers in front of Chad's face, "Two weeks is negligible. Five weeks, is not."

Troy spun back around, closing the distance between him and the door, Chad bringing his thumb and pointer finger up to pinch the bridge of his nose, "Troy, you can't just _go_ to Baltimore. We have games, we have press…"

Troy threw the door open, the metal slamming against the wall, "Watch me."

* * *

Why wouldn't she tell him?

There were a million and a half questions floating around his brain in reference to Gabriella, but at that moment, that was the most prevalent. Why wouldn't she tell him? Sure, he was freaking out about the possibility that Gabriella might be pregnant. Yes, he was worried about what this would mean in terms of their upcoming nuptials that had yet to be planned. And yeah, he knew a long conversation about what they were going to do if Gabriella was, in fact, pregnant was most likely going to happen before the night was out. But Why. Wouldn't. She. Tell. Him?

They told each other everything. If Troy admitted it to himself, sometimes they were _too_ open with one another. One of the perks in having a long distance relationship was an aura of mystery existing between the two. Sure, they talked at least once a day, but she only knew what he told her. He could be living a double life, partying every night with different women, taking each and every one of them home and fucking their brains out and she would never be the wiser. But then again, so could she. He'd seen _Grey's Anatomy_, he knew what it was like. So every time he was out with friends and a cute girl would start flirting with him, he'd stop and think about not only what Gabriella could be doing in Baltimore, but what he'd be sacrificing for one night of sex. It simply wasn't worth it. So he'd politely blow off the girl, call Gabriella to tell her about the model he just blew off, and she'd tell him about the cardiologist that grabbed her ass.

They told each other _everything_. It was one of the things he was so proud of in their relationship. With Zeke and Chad, sure, they could talk to Sharpay and Taylor, but usually they talked to him first. Not that he didn't talk with Chad and Zeke, but he knew he didn't have too, and knowing he could go to Gabriella for anything was a wonderful feeling. Because when he boiled it down, while he was certain his friendships with Chad and Zeke would never fade, it was he and Gabriella who needed to be able to lean on each other. And he had been leaning. But apparently she wasn't.

It pissed him off that she was keeping this from him. He wasn't going to lie, at first, when he was making his way to LAX and boarding a plane to Baltimore, he always kept the thought in the back of his mind that she would call. She would call, she would explain everything to him in that tone that he was unable to refuse, and it would make everything okay. Even after her touched down in Baltimore, he turned his phone on truly believing that there would be a missed call from Gabriella.

There wasn't.

It was a fifteen minute cab ride between the airport and Gabriella's apartment, and by the time he pulled up to her complex he was beyond angry at Gabriella.

"It's late, sir," Troy didn't even flinch at the cab driver's voice, his eyes focused on Gabriella's dark window on the second floor, "should you call…"

"Thank you," Troy cut him off, shoving a bill in his general direction whilst making his way out of the cab, "won't be necessary." Troy shut the door to the cab before the driver could argue anymore, and he didn't hear the car begin to move forward until after he had opened the door to her lobby and entered the dimly lit room. There wasn't a doorman, something Troy had always hated about where she lived, but at that moment, he was thankful for it. The trip up the stairs was quick and uneventful, and before he had formed what he was going to actually do, he found himself standing in front of Gabriella's door.

In the cab, he'd envisioned many scenarios. Some of them including him staying very calm and planning appealing to her rational side, but most of them consisting of him storming into her apartment yelling and screaming. The apartment complex wasn't completely dead, it was only half past eleven, but yelling most likely would not go over well with the neighbors. Not that Troy cared, but if they were going to get this settled, it was best to not involve the police.

Her doorbell was loud in comparison to the surrounding noise, but Troy didn't really care. He tried glancing around the otherwise empty hallway, scratching at the strap of his duffle bag, and teetering on his feet, but nothing could've made time move faster. He heard no movement inside, and so he lifted his hand to ring the doorbell again. However, one time turned into five.

The lock finally slid out of place, and Troy watched the door carefully as it opened a crack. "Who is it?" he heard Gabriella's timid voice ask from the opposite side.

"Me." Troy answered without a moment's hesitation.

There was a pause, "Who's 'me'?"

Troy blinked, "Me," he said more emphatically, "Troy, your fiancé!"

"Troy?" the door shut immediately and he heard the removal of the chain before it flew open to reveal a tired looking Gabriella, wearing a pair of pajama pants and one of his t-shirts she had stolen, "What are you doing here?" she lifted up her wrist, as though she was hoping to find the time, "It's really late, don't you have games?"

"We need to talk." They were the four words that plagued every relationship, and had Gabriella been functioning on a normal amount of sleep, they might have affected her, however, when Troy pushed past her, storming into her apartment, she simple stared at him curiously.

"Talk about what?" Gabriella asked, shutting the door behind her and squinting up at him in the darkness, "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"No, everything's not okay." Troy said, dropping his bag onto the floor of her hallway, "Have you taken it? What did it say?"

Gabriella's expression had yet to change from confused, "Take what?"

"The pregnancy test," his voice was raised, but he was attempting to keep his temper in check, "have you taken it, have you peed on a stick?"

Gabriella's eyes widened momentarily before she shut them, "Damnit. I knew I shouldn't have told Sharpay."

"No, you know who you should've told?" Troy asked sarcastically, "Me. Your first _thought_ shouldn't have been to tell anyone else beside _me_."

Gabriella was avoiding eye contact, and Troy could see the guilt in his features, "Troy, you weren't supposed to find out like this…"

"Yeah and how was I supposed to find out?" he countered, "After you moved to California? After the wedding? Were you just going to wait until the baby popped out?" Gabriella opened her mouth to respond but Troy cut her off, "And what the hell, Gabriella? Five weeks? What kind of doctor doesn't notice their period is five weeks late?"

"The kind that's busy." Gabriella shot back, the guilt now absent from her face and replaced with a bit of anger.

"Busy with what?" Troy's tone was anything but kind, "All you do is your job, and your job is to notice these kinds of things."

"All _I_ do is my job?" Gabriella repeated, "Okay mister-travels-eleven-months-of-the-year. When was the last time _you_ took a vacation that didn't involve basketball?"

"When I do or do not take my vacations is none of your business!" Troy spit back, "And this isn't about me, this is about you, and the fact that you told the blonde Barbie from hell before you told me!"

Gabriella shut her eyes and released an angry breath, shaking her head slightly, "I'm not doing this with you tonight."

She turned around and began walking away, but Troy wasn't giving up that easily, "Don't walk away from me!" Troy yelled, chasing after her, "We're not finished."

"Yes, we are, Troy." Gabriella started, "When you get angry, you get irrational, and I cannot talk to you when you're irrational."

"I am not irrational," Troy shot back, feeling his foot catch on something, causing him to stumble as he chased after her, "why didn't you tell me? Why are you keeping this a secret?"

"Because I didn't want you to find out," she told him honestly, "because I didn't want to say anything until I knew all the facts," She stopped as she came in front of her bedroom door, "because the man I am choosing to marry has serious commitment issues, I don't know, take your pick."

"I don't have commitment issues." Troy defended.

"Really?" Gabriella asked rhetorically, "So, then, it took you ten years to propose because you're just slow?"

Troy clenched his jaw, his nostrils flaring at her comment, "So tell me how you managed to get knocked up when I'm three thousand miles away?" he quirked an eyebrow, "I've gotta tell you, I don't think having a doctor inside of you counts as being on the clock."

Had it been any other day, and had he been in any other mindset, the hurt that flashed on her face would have been more then enough for him to stop. It was one of his weaknesses, seeing Gabriella in any other state but happy. And normally, he'd have given anything he could to avoid seeing her in pain. Normally.

"I would _never_ cheat on you." Gabriella defended quietly, tears swimming in her eyes.

"It makes sense, really," Troy started, a hardened expression on his face, "I see why our wedding date keeps getting closer and you've progressed no further on the planning."

Gabriella extended her arm, gesturing into the room, "I…"

"Tell me who he is." Troy demanded.

A tear slid down her cheek, but she didn't flinch, fiercely shaking her head, "Troy, I would _never_…"

"Tell me!"

She wasn't even attempting to prevent the tears from rolling down her cheeks, "I've never…"

Troy grabbed her arm, cutting Gabriella off, and before she knew what was happening, her back hit the door, and Troy was gripping her lower arm, his fingers feeling like fire on her skin, "_TELL ME_!" he roared, his voice sending shockwaves through the apartment.

He wasn't really sure what stopped him. He wasn't sure if it was the inner voice that had been trying to break through his anger, the gasp that had penetrated Gabriella's lips, or the pure fear in her eyes. But suddenly, the red he had been seeing faded. Suddenly, the feelings of betrayal and anger faded. Suddenly, the person he was seeing wasn't a lying and deceitful Gabriella, but instead a scared and fearful Gabriella. A scared and fearful Gabriella that Troy didn't remember seeing but one other time in the ten years he knew her, four years earlier, when she broke down and told him about a man who used to beat her and her mother. A man she used to call father, and a man Troy always swore he'd never even remotely resemble.

A knock sliced through the silence that had been surrounding them, and Troy felt himself jump back, his hand removing itself from Gabriella's wrist to soon be replaced with her own, just as the front door to her apartment flew open. "Gabriella," a female voice asked, and Troy squinted as the lights were turned on, illuminating the pair, "are you alright?" The woman in the doorway, Troy recognized, as Gabriella's neighbor, Cynthia, and while he wouldn't go so far as to call her nosy, he wouldn't exactly say she kept to herself, "Oh Troy!" she looked surprised to see him, most likely because she hadn't heard through gossip that he was planning on coming to visit, "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt, we just heard shouting." Her eyes turned away from him, and Troy moved his gaze over to Gabriella, who was looking away from the door, doing her best to wipe the tears from her eyes whilst still holding her wrist. "Is everything alright?"

Troy turned his wide eyes back onto the neighbor, pleading with his mouth to open to tell her yes, just simply so she could go away. This was between them, involving a third party was pointless. But he couldn't do it. Everything wasn't alright.

"Everything's fine." At first he thought that he had somehow gathered enough saliva to actually speak, but one look at Gabriella found her to be the one that actually spoke, "Just an argument." Troy swallowed the lump in his throat, willing to give speaking a shot, just as Gabriella breezed by him, not even glancing in his general direction. "Haven't you ever heard an argument before?" she grumbled, pausing to grab her purse before pushing past Cynthia.

After watching Gabriella go, Cynthia turned her head back towards Troy, most likely intent on questioning him some more, only to widen her eyes in his direction, "Wow!" she said in awe, "I had no idea she had so much done on the wedding."

Troy couldn't even seem to comprehend what she was talking about, his mind still reeling from what had just occurred. However, he found himself turning and gazing into the newly lit room behind him, wishing as soon as his eyes took in the lace filled room in front of him, he hadn't.

"When's the big day?" he wasn't sure if Cynthia expected an answer, but even if she did, she wasn't going to get one, and she seemed to realize as he heard a sigh released, "Will she be alright out this late?"

It was possible Cynthia asked more questions, but Troy didn't listen, his wobbly legs taking him into the living room, passing a multitude of color swatches and pictures of flowers, stepping over a book of tux and dress designs with pages earmarked, and collapsing onto his knees in front of a white board propped up against the couch with 'What Troy wants:' written at the top, and only three things written under it.

_ 1. Color scheme: red and white  
2. Small  
3. Me_

Oh shit. What had he done?

* * *

He hadn't moved. She had been gone for five hours and he hadn't moved. Despite that Cynthia had come over and stared at him like he was insane. Despite that she had gotten on the phone with everyone she ever knew and told them about Troy Bolton collapsing. And despite that she had left over four hours earlier. Troy remained in his spot, lying on his back, surrounded by the remnants of something that, as each hour passed, became more and more apparent that he had royally fucked up.

For a while, he had looked through all of the different magazines and books that surrounded him. Finding Gabriella's notes in the margin, crosses over things she hated, and circles around things that she had, undoubtedly, ordered. He could see it in his head, the flowers she had circled, the tuxes she had picked out, the color scheme, the hall she had pictures of, everything. He could see their wedding, and although he would've loved to have been a part of the planning process, he wouldn't change a thing about the way it turned out. The only thing missing was her dress, and while Gabriella would've murdered him had he seen her dress before the actual wedding, he would've looked at it had he found it, but instead he found a list of bridal stores in Baltimore with times for appointments. Appointments Gabriella had never made it to. And appointments she probably wouldn't have to make it too because as soon as she came back, Troy would find himself on the next flight to LA toting everything he came with plus one engagement ring. He had settled into his position after that, realizing that picturing his wedding to Gabriella was only going to make him depressed, and hadn't moved since.

His eyelids were growing heavy, and while it was still dark outside, Troy had a pretty good feeling that the sun would be rising soon. It had occurred more than once in his brain that he should most likely attempt to find Gabriella. She was, as of that moment, still his fiancé, and there was a good chance that she was pregnant with his child, so the logical thing would've been for him to find her, bring her back, and talk this over. But he didn't, he couldn't, her face and the fear that had been floating in her eyes from before was haunting him, and every time he attempted to call her, he simply hung up. Troy jerked awake as the ringing of his phone filled the apartment, immediately snatching it up from the carpet next to him, blinking to read the caller ID in front of him. It had been ringing nonstop for a good hour now, mainly Chad and Zeke trying to get a hold of him, but he had different ringtones for each person he knew, and the ringtone currently playing belonged to her.

"Hello?" Troy breathed into the phone, pushing up from the ground, "Hello, are you there? Gabriella…" The apartment door slammed open and he looked up sharply, watching with wide eyes as Gabriella came barging through. She was purposely keeping her head down, and with her phone clutched in one hand and a white bag in her other one, she darted from the front door to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Letting his eyes fall shut, Troy groaned internally, his phone slipping from his hand to tumble down onto the carpet as he felt his head fall forward into his palms. Shit, this was bad. He and Gabriella had fought in the past, no couple didn't, and she'd spent more nights angry at him then he ever cared to admit, but this was bad.

His head had barely been resting on his hands for more then a minute when he heard the bedroom door fly open again, his head darting up to find Gabriella storming out of the room. She looked understandably frazzled, her normally tame curls wild with frizz, her dark and flawless complexion was blotchy and red with dark tearstains streaming down her cheeks. It was so odd seeing her like this. Gabriella was always so well put together, whether it be by the work of makeup or naturally, he rarely ever saw her any other way but perfect, and to see her like this tore at his heart. And that was without acknowledging the hurt and anger swimming in her eyes.

"The pregnancy test will take three minutes." She spat out at him, coming to stop at the entrance to the living room, "In three and a half minutes, no matter what the results are, I expect you _out_ of this apartment!"

Gabriella spun back around and began heading towards her room. Troy looked down, "Gabi…"

"No!" Gabriella practically yelled, turning towards him and advancing in a menacing fashion, "Alright? NO! You son of a bitch, how _dare_ you come into my home and accuse me of cheating on you? I have been _nothing_ but loyal. I love you!"

Troy held up his hands in a mini surrender, "Gabrie…"

"And why didn't I tell you?" Gabriella asked rhetorically, ignoring Troy's attempt to interrupt, "Why the hell don't you think I told you? You _freaked_ when I first mentioned marriage. It took you two years to propose after we decided that we wanted to get married. You'd have probably moved to Mexico if I'd have told you I was pregnant."

Troy pushed up off of the floor, his face still calm and his voice still pleading, "Gabriella, calm…"

"DO NOT TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!" She reacted so quickly once the screeching left her mouth that even her brain didn't have a chance to comprehend what was happening until she felt her now balled up hand collide with the side of Troy's jaw. Gabriella had always been a firm believer in solving things through non-violent methods. Never once, no matter how stupid he had been, had she even shoved Troy angrily, let alone actually hit him. Yet, as her fist slammed into the side of Troy's face with the power of her body behind it, she couldn't deny that it felt good.

However, that feeling was only momentary.

Almost instantly the anger that had been reverberating through her entire body was gone, and as she watched Troy's head swing to the side, his face a mirror of pain and shock, she felt her sanity, that had seemed to completely slip away from her, return. She gasped, her hand flying up to cover her mouth as she realized what she had just done, "Oh my god…" Troy lifted up his hand, wiping his lip, and Gabriella's eyes widened further when she saw a sliver of blood on his finger, "Oh jeeze…"

Gabriella went to move towards Troy, but he quickly held up a hand to stop her, sucking in his bottom lip as though to hide the injury caused by his five-foot-five, one hundred pound girlfriend, "Are you alright?" Troy asked slowly, not looking over at her, keeping his hand at his mouth as though Gabriella might throw another punch.

Gabriella blinked, "Am I…"

"…alright." Troy finished for her, turning his gaze on her, "Are you alright? Your arm," his eyes moved down to her arm, and Gabriella followed his lead, "d-did I hurt you?"

She had been angry before. Once she stormed out of the apartment, she had been filled with rage. Rage that she had really never felt, nor would she had thought she'd ever feel, towards Troy. Who the hell was he to accuse her of cheating on him? Of the two of them, _he_ was the one who had droves of gorgeous women from all over the world throwing themselves at him. _He _was the one who went out every night to clubs because he needed to be seen. _She_ barely had a life outside of work, Gabriella couldn't honestly remember the last time she truly just 'let loose', and so for Troy to accuse her of betraying him like that was…infuriating.

But now the anger was gone. Now, it felt like someone had taken her heart and just started squeezing it as tightly as they could. How could he think she would do that to him? She had never done anything but love him. She had never treated him like anyone other then the same Troy he had always been. And no matter what happened in their lives, good or bad, she had always stood by his side.

Feeling her throat closing up, Gabriella turned away before Troy could notice the tears swimming in her eyes. He didn't need to see her cry. He didn't _deserve_ to see her cry.

Troy released a sigh, "Gabi…"

She wasn't sure if it was the use of her nickname or the hand he placed on her shoulder that made her jolt away from him, but it didn't matter as she spun back around, feeling a sudden surge of anger despite the tears rolling down her cheeks, "Do not touch me!" she practically spit out at him, "And do not call me Gabi." She grounded out, her finger suddenly in his face, "I'm _sorry _you're freaking out at the prospect of having to grow up. I'm _sorry_ that suddenly you don't want children and have been lying to me our entire relationship. I'm _sorry_ that you can't seem to find the balls to step up and take responsibility for your actions. But _don't _think you get to take this out on me." Troy opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, Gabriella already had her back to him, storming towards her bedroom, "Three minutes," she yelled, disappearing inside, "and I want you OUT!"

Troy looked down as he heard Gabriella's footsteps echoing in the otherwise empty apartment, something about watching her walk away was less than uplifting. She didn't slam the door; Troy's only saving grace, because had she slammed it, he wouldn't have been able to muster up the courage to follow her. His footsteps were heavy, as though, suddenly, the shoes he was wearing were filled with rocks, dragging him down, and making the short distance from the living room to her bedroom feel like miles. Almost as though his feet wanted him to turn around and walk away. And he knew why when he reached the doorway of Gabriella's room.

She hadn't made it very far past the door, her petite figure standing less than a foot from where his was, and although her back was to him, her shaking shoulders and the soft sniffling was enough for Troy to know that she was crying. Seeing her cry was a definite stab to his heart. She was such a strong woman that Troy could only remember a handful of times when she had truly cried.

"I'm sorry." Troy mumbled from behind her.

Gabriella turned sharply, her bloodshot eyes focusing on Troy standing behind her for only a minute before she spun back around and bounded the rest of the way into her room, "I meant for you to wait out there!"

She walked over to her bed and plopped down onto the mattress, her eyes facing forward, staying trained on the closed bathroom door. Troy sighed, trudging towards her, lowering himself on the mattress next to her, trying to ignore the tug at his heart when she turned her head away from him, "You didn't give me the engagement ring back." Gabriella, if possible, stiffened even more at his comment, "Isn't that the way this works? We break up and you give me back the engagement ring, usually in some sort of violent manner?"

Gabriella pursed her lips, beginning to shake her head, "You little bas…"

She went to withdraw her hand, intent on showing him just how violently a ring can be returned, but Troy grasped it firmly, keeping it in place, causing her to turn her head towards him, "There's a _reason_ you don't want to give it back," Troy cut her off, "because you don't want to end this, and neither do I."

Gabriella opened her mouth, as though she wanted to refute his claim, but didn't seem to be able to. Her eyes dropped, and while it wasn't much, his heart rose a bit when she didn't pull her hand from his, "I never said I didn't want kids." Troy told her softly.

Gabriella's face was scrunching up with each passing second, and the sniffle she released following his confession simply confirmed the crying that would inevitably come, "You're such a liar."

"No," Troy insisted, "baby, I do, I _really_ do. I just…"

He trailed off and Gabriella lifted her tear-filled eyes, "You just what?" she choked out, "Why does the mere prospect of starting a family with me make you so angry that you accuse me of cheating on you?"

Troy studied her face for a moment, "Because…" he looked down, unable to take her imploring gaze any longer, "Because I'm selfish." He said quietly.

Confusion clouded Gabriella's features, "What?"

"Because I'm selfish." He repeated, "Because we've waited ten years to get married." He looked down, "And I know that's not your fault, it's mine. I-I had my career and I wanted to give you the chance to do the same. But…"

He paused and Gabriella lifted her eyebrows, "But what?"

"Kids are a lot of work," Troy admitted, and Gabriella's eyebrows knitted together, "and marriage is a lot of work. And we've never lived together before either, so that's going to be another challenge. And…and…" he shook his head, as though he didn't want to say the words he was about to utter, but saw no way around it, "We've been three thousand miles apart since high school. I can't remember the last time we spent time together that wasn't scheduled in. I want you as my wife, and I'm selfish because I don't want to share you with anyone else." He told her, "I know it's a stupid reason, a reason that in no way, shape, or form makes up for the way I acted earlier, but it's my reason."

Gabriella turned her head away from him, keeping her eyes focused on her hands as they rested in her lap, Troy's hand still covering her left one, "So if I'm pregnant," she started, swallowing hard, "what you're saying is…you don't want the baby."

"No." Troy said instantly.

"So you do want the baby?"

He pursed his lips, "I…" Gabriella turned her head towards him, her eyes pleading for him to agree, "…don't know."

The two stayed perfectly still for a moment, eyed locked, still sitting on the bed. Troy's words were lingering in the air, and with each passing moment, he was beginning to feel worse and worse about this. For all her screaming, yelling, and punching, silence was ten times worse. He'd let her hit him a million more times if she'd simply tell him what was going through her mind.

A buzzing made Troy jump slightly, his eyes moving away from Gabriella, as she turned away from him, in search of the source of the sound. "What is…" he finally located the noise coming from a timer Gabriella had grabbed off of her nightstand.

"Time's up." Gabriella mumbled, removing her hand from Troy's grasp before she pushed up off of the bed, her destination clear as she headed for the bathroom.

Troy sprung up from his seat, leaping towards the door, and shocking Gabriella as he slammed himself into the door, blocking her from entering, "No, no, no," Troy said quickly, "just wait a second."

"Troy, just let me…"

"I don't know, okay?" he reiterated his answer from before, "But a lot of parents don't know right away either, right? That's the point of the nine months, to adjust. Just because I don't know now doesn't mean I won't know tomorrow."

"Yeah," Gabriella agreed, "you could wake up tomorrow and not want a baby."

"Or I could wake up tomorrow and _want_ one." Troy protested, "And, for the love of god, it's not that I don't _want_ a baby…I do."

His voice was almost begging her, but she wasn't having it, "Troy, _move_ so I can go see…"

"I'm scared." Troy said suddenly, catching Gabriella off guard, and causing her to momentarily cease from trying to move him away from the door, "Okay? Is that what you want to hear? I'm scared out of my fucking mind at the prospect of having a human being that you and I are solely responsible for. I'm not grown up enough for this!" he admitted, his voice rising to emphasize his point, "I _know_ that I'm ready to get married. I _know_ that I'm ready to spend the rest of my life with you. I _don't _know that I'm ready to be a father, to take on that kind of responsibility. I just don't know."

"And you think I am?" Gabriella asked incredulously, "Do you think that the positive pregnancy test comes with an instruction manual or something? You know what can go wrong with a pregnancy? You know the statistics on how many babies actually make it full term without any problems, or mothers who make it through labor without any sort of complications? I'm scared too." she released a breath, "But you're supposed to be scared. _We're_ supposed to be scared, together."

Troy blinked, "You're scared?"

Gabriella nodded, "Of course I am."

"And the fact that a human being could possibly be growing in your stomach and will come busting out like an alien in nine months creeps you out?"

"Actually," Gabriella started, "it doesn't come 'busting out', it actually goes down…"

"I'm not being serious," Troy interrupted, "I've seen the _Miracle of Life_ too, I know how it works, just answer the question."

Gabriella reached up and laid her hand on his chest, "Yes, it does. But we can do this, together."

He paused for a moment, and Gabriella actually saw his eyes wander over to the door, most likely wondering if it was possible to escape, but once he either decided running away wasn't the answer or figured he'd get caught, his head bobbed up and down slowly, "Okay, we're gonna do this together." He moved his hand up swiftly and intertwined their fingers, "But first, I need you to promise me I didn't hurt you," he said hurriedly, "I'd never _ever_ hurt you on purpose, you know that. Please tell me you know that. And I'm sorry I acted that way. I'm such a bastard, I'd never ever want you to see him…"

Troy was silenced when Gabriella placed her finger over his lips, a soft smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, "You didn't hurt me, it was just shock. We've never had this kind of fight before. I just didn't know how to react." She moved forward, snaking her arms around his torso, resting her head on his chest, in a hug, "And I could never see him in you, okay?"

Troy wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her tighter against him, "You swear?"

Gabriella nodded, "I swear." Gabriella squeezed her eyes shut as Troy pressed a kiss to the top of her head, reveling in the feeling. They stood there for a moment, his head buried in her hair and her face pressed up against his chest, "I missed you." She mumbled out quietly.

Troy released a breath, "Are we talking about the time between when you stormed out and returned, or the time before I even came back to Baltimore?"

"Both."

"Where did you go?"

Gabriella moved her shoulders, "The hospital, I needed to get a pregnancy test."

"Speaking of," Troy pulled back, "you probably should…"

"I'm pregnant." Gabriella cut him off, "I already took three pregnancy tests at the hospital. I'm most definitely pregnant."

Troy's brow furrowed, "But, if you already knew you were pregnant, why did we just wait three minutes?"

She diverted her eyes, "Because I had to stay mad at you and give you a chance to apologize. Coming in, telling you I was pregnant, and throwing you out wouldn't have accomplished that."

Troy suppressed a laugh, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips, "But you would've thrown me out?"

"In a heartbeat." Gabriella answered, "You were a jackass, you'd have deserved it."

Troy nodded, "I would've. And I'm sorry…so, _so_…sorry."

Gabriella moved her arms up around his neck, "Apology accepted, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you first. I just knew how you'd react, and I needed to talk to someone."

"Just be honest with me," Troy told her, wrapping his arms around her waist, "you're right, we can do this, _together_." Gabriella didn't seem to have anything else to say as she pushed up onto her tiptoes, leaning in closer and pressing her lips to his in a soft kiss, a kiss Troy quickly deepened by slipping his tongue into her mouth. "We're gonna have a baby." He mumbled against her lips, a smile stretching onto his features.

Gabriella nodded, mirroring his smile onto her face, "We are." She giggled lightly, pressing a quick kiss to his lips, "I love you so much."

"I love you too," he retorted, "as long as you can withstand me freaking out when I see the baby in an ultrasound."

Gabriella grinned, "I think if you can take three AM Taco Bell runs, I can take that." Troy let out a quiet laugh before pressing his lips to hers again, not even the kisses being able to suppress the smiles adorning their features, "When do you have to go back to LA?"

"Probably now." Troy mumbled, "But I don't care, they can deal, we've still got a bunch of stuff to discuss."

"Like?"

Troy pulled back slightly, nodding his head towards the bedroom, "Why your apartment looks like a bridal store threw up in it is a start."

Gabriella's eyes widened and she immediately detached from Troy, "Oh shit! I missed my appointments."

Gabriella turned and barreled out of the room, Troy following her out to watch her make a beeline for her desk in the center of the room, "Appointments for what?" Troy asked sarcastically, "The wedding that we were supposed to plan _together_?"

Gabriella grabbed a portfolio off of her desk, "I can still make most of them." She said to herself, "You said you didn't want to be involved."

She breezed past him, already stripping her shirt over her head and pushing down her pants, grabbing the first things she could find in her drawers to change into, "No," Troy started, "that is not what I said."

"Well, it's what you meant."

Troy scoffed, "Remember that thing I said about it being _our_ wedding? This is only going to happen once; I'd like to be a part of it."

Slipping her feet into sandals, she moved over towards him, "You are," she pushed up and pecked him on the lips, "you'll be the one standing at the end of the aisle." Troy rolled his eyes as Gabriella began heading towards the door, scooping up her purse along the way, "Don't leave, I won't be gone long."

Troy made a move to follow her, "Can't I at least come."

Glancing over her shoulder, she sent him a smile, "No." Her statement punctuated by the slamming of the door.


	3. The BachelorBachelorette Parties part 1

**A/N:** So, remember that thing I said about this being a threeshot? I lied. It's actually a five…shot, if that's a real thing, or I suppose you could call it a 'story' if you like, however, I'm not really sure I see it that way, but…whatever. So…originally I was gonna do this as a fourshot and just post the third and fourth together as a surprise. However, I'm starting school tomorrow, and to be honest, I'm not 100% sure that I can devote as much time to it as I would like until after I settle into my classes. So I'm splitting up the third chapter into two parts and posting the first one now. It's not nearly as long as the last one, but it's not nearly as dramatic either.

Speaking of the last chapter, I would like to say something about that. First off…whoa. I mean, like a major whoa. I find it hard to believe that one person would like my stories, let alone the many of you that left reviews. I mean, I just…it boggles my mind, thank you so much. You guys have no idea how much it means to me. A couple of people mentioned the scene when Troy and Gabriella first saw each other in the last chapter, and I would like to set something straight about that. Troy did not hit Gabriella. Troy would _never_ hit Gabriella. He just grabbed her arm. It was just a reminder of Gabriella's father, and it shook her. I do not condone domestic violence, nor would I write it between Troy and Gabriella, simply because I am trying to keep the character's real, and with as much as Troy loves Gabriella, angry or not, he'd never hit her.

Okay, I hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

Gabriella Montez hadn't had many homes in her twenty six years on earth. Sure, she'd lived in a lot of different places and she'd had a lot of different houses, but very few of them had ever truly felt like home. She had been born in New York and, for the first ten years of her life, it was very much her home. She had parents that loved her, friends she socialized with, and she even played, while not well, soccer on the team at her grade school. She was, by all measurements, a happy and normal child. Then her father beat her mother.

After that, Gabriella never really had much of a home, moving around from state to state for her mother's job, never remaining in the same place for more then a few months before they got transferred again. Albuquerque was the next place she called home. Not just because it was one of the few places she lived in for longer then a year, but also because of the people she met. Friends that would eventually become family, and a first love that would turn into the man she would spend the rest of her life with. After that, Gabriella's home wasn't so clear cut. She lived in New Haven 95% of the time for six years alternating between working and going to school. She loved it in New Haven, really she did. Her school was there, her friends were there, the weather was positively gorgeous, and she found the perfect little apartment that suited her wonderfully. For all intensive purposes, New Haven was perfect. But it wasn't her next home. Her apartment was nice, her friends were nice, and New Haven was a Gabriella town, however, LA housed all the people who made her who she was. And without them, any place she lived, New Haven or Baltimore, just wasn't a home.

But now she was home.

Gabriella swayed her hips to the beat of the music she currently had pumping through the house she inhabited. Her dainty hands continuing to fold the basket of laundry she had sitting on the large king sized bed that took up the majority of the master bedroom. It was a gorgeous room, not that she expected any less with the interior designer Troy had hired to decorate his house, but still, he was a guy, and Gabriella half expected to find the walls left completely white with all of his possessions still in boxes.

Their house. The interior designer _they _had hired to decorate _their _house. She still had to get used to that. Ever since Troy was twenty two and had inked his first multi-million dollar contract, the house had always been his house. Even though they picked it out together, and even though he insisted that when the time came she would move in, _he _had been the one to pay for it, and in Gabriella's mind, that made the house his. Troy disagreed. He argued that since they were getting married, his money was her money, and therefore, his house was her house. The phrase what's mine is yours was thrown around a lot, and Gabriella wasn't too sure she was comfortable with it. It wasn't that she didn't want to share everything in her life with Troy. She did. But Gabriella had very vivid memories of her parents' divorce and their bitter fight over money. Gabriella remembered the way her father had control over everything, and once her and her mother left, they had to fight to put food on the table every night. Growing up, Gabriella always swore it'd never be that way when she got married. His money would be his and her money would be hers. Troy didn't see it that way.

Finishing the laundry, Gabriella scooped up the two piles of clothing, one in each arm, and made her way towards their walk-in closet. That was another thing she had to get used too. _Living_ with Troy. Not just coming to stay with him for the weekend, or even those rare occasions when they got to spend a week together, but actually living with Troy. The good stuff, like getting to fall asleep next to each other every night and wake up in each other's arms the next morning, as well as the bad stuff, like the way Troy left his dishes in the sink for days on end, or how he'd leave his workout clothes on the bedroom floor, or not make the bed, or take up more then his half of the closet, or…

Yeah, it was taking some adjusting.

Pulling open Troy's drawers, she began depositing his clothing into the appropriate areas. She knew it was just getting to her because she was around it all of the time, and that once she started her new job, she'd be much more tolerant to him being a slob. But right now, it was gritting on her last nerve, and with the wedding in a little less than twenty four hours, she really needed that last nerve. Gabriella stopped, midway through placing her own clothing into their spots, a smile stretching onto her features. The same smile that always stretched onto her features when conversation drifted to this topic. It was August ninth. Tomorrow was August tenth.

Tomorrow was her wedding.

She couldn't help the involuntary squeal that slipped from her lips before she slapped her hand over her mouth. Despite that she was the only person in the house, she couldn't let her emotions get the best of her. Her mother had lost it, Troy's mother had lost it, Sharpay and Taylor had lost it, Gabriella was the only one still holding it together and Troy had just complimented her on not having a complete meltdown. And that was saying something, considering she was pregnant. Especially considering that no one knew she was pregnant outside of their four close friends.

Retrieving a dress from her closet, Gabriella returned back to the bedroom, biting her lip to contain her smile. They hadn't yet told anyone, not even their parents. They had wanted too, they had really really wanted too, but something had stopped Gabriella. It wasn't that she was particularly religious or had any sort of obligations to getting pregnant outside of wedlock, but something had struck her when she and Troy had gone for the first ultrasound. She wanted to do this right. And doing this right required waiting to tell everyone until after the nuptials.

Grabbing a few folded t-shirts off of the bed, Gabriella tucked them inside of the duffle bag she had sitting on top of mattress. Gabriella was twelve weeks along, which luckily meant she wasn't showing yet, and despite a slight weight gain in her chest, she looked exactly the same as she did before. Troy had come up with the plan that they would just tell everyone that it was a honeymoon baby, and when she went into labor earlier then expected, that the baby was simply premature. Gabriella knew it wasn't going to fly, they may not be doctors, but the difference between a baby born at 30 weeks and one born at 40 weeks was astronomical. But she remained mum, if that was how he wanted to do it, she'd let him do it.

Gabriella tensed immediately when she felt a kiss pressed into the crook of her neck, her body initially panicking, until a mixture of sweat, Gatorade, and rubber washed over her. His scent. "Hello gorgeous."

Gabriella smiled, turning her head ever so slightly to catch a glimpse of her sweaty fiancé, "Are the showers at Staples broken?"

Even without looking, Gabriella could tell he rolled his eyes, "I missed you too, babe."

Gabriella couldn't help but giggle as she felt Troy pull away from her, and watched as he walked over towards the closet, still dressed in the sweat soaked white wife beater and black basketball shorts from his practice he had just come from. "Troy, you've been gone for like four hours."

"Four, torturous hours." Troy lamented, standing in the hallway of the closet as he stripped off his shirt, "Four torturous hours that cut into the little time I have left with you today."

Gabriella zipped up the duffle bag, sending him a look, "Good god, not this again…"

"I'm just saying," Troy defended quickly, lifting his hands in a mock surrender, "I think it's absolutely ridiculous that we can't spend the night before our wedding together."

"I know," Gabriella told him, "but I've told you a _million_ times, it's bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other before the wedding." She shook her head at him, "I'm sorry, I'm not budging on this one."

Troy groaned, tilting his head back dramatically while Gabriella gripped the strap of the bag, making a move to carry it from the bed to the floor, but Troy quickly refocused and swooped in, "Here, let me…"

"What, Troy?" Gabriella abruptly stopped when Troy successfully stole the bag. She scoffed, moving her hands to her hips, "I thought you were going to stop this," she huffed, "I'm pregnant, not invalid."

Troy set the duffle bag on the ground outside of the bedroom door before closing it, "I don't know what you're talking about, I'm merely being a gentleman and carrying my bag, that you so wonderfully packed for me, to the door."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "This isn't going to work if you're going to treat me like I'm handicapped for the next nine months."

Troy sent her a sly smile, stopping in front of her, "Don't worry, I won't," he assured her, his hands sliding around her waist, "you're already three months along, I'll only treat you like your handicapped for the next six months."

Gabriella reached up and shoved hard on Troy's chest, successfully moving his laughing form backwards, "You're such a jerk!"

Troy immediately began reeling her back in, his arms imprisoning her as she attempted to escape, "Hey." He protested as she continued to push against him, "Hey!" he barked, drawing her attention, and causing her to momentarily pause in her efforts to get away from him, "You're gonna have to bear with me. This is my first child too." He told her, "I don't want you overexerting yourself."

Gabriella lifted her eyebrows, "Carrying a duffle bag is not overexerting myself."

"Nevertheless," Troy started, "with the wedding and stress, I'd just feel better if you didn't do any sort of heavy lifting, stayed away from our mothers, and just kicked back and relaxed tonight."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, but still nodded her head, "Fine," she agreed, "_after_ the strip club."

Troy immediately released a noise that was a cross between a growl and a whine, "Damnit, I thought you changed your mind."

Gabriella released a laugh, "It's not _me_ whose mind you have to change. Sharpay and Taylor are the orchestrates in this." She quirked an eyebrow, "Plus _you're_ going to a strip club for your bachelor party, why can't I go to one for my bachelorette?"

Troy immediately started shaking his head, "Baby, it is _not_ the same. I couldn't talk the guys out of taking me to a strip club even if I tried."

"Likewise." Gabriella retorted, smiling, "Plus, it's exciting, I've never been to a strip club before."

Gabriella pulled away from him, turning back to the bed, "I have," Troy started, "they're not that exciting. Plus, you're pregnant."

Gabriella had turned her head back towards him, "You've been to a strip club?"

Troy rolled his eyes, "A long time ago, it was for my birthday."

She folded her arms across her chest, "Which one?" she questioned, "Did you get a lap dance? Was she pretty?"

Troy held up his hand, "Hey, I was twenty four." He quickly defended, "And although I did receive many offers, I am in a committed relationship. So no, I didn't get a lap dance."

Gabriella tilted her head before snatching her dress off of the bed, "This is my new dress for tonight." Troy's eyes swept down the silky material with a low cut v-neck that undoubtedly hugged her curves, "Like it?" she asked rhetorically, "I plan on getting a lap dance in it tonight."

Troy sent her a look as she tossed the dress back onto the bed prior to trotting back towards the closet, "See…you think you're funny, but you're really not."

Gabriella walked back out, toting a pair of heels and clutch, "Don't worry, you can have one too."

Troy folded his arms, "_Or_, we could stay home and _you_ could give me a lap dance."

Gabriella dropped her accessories onto the mattress, the teasing on her face replaced with hurt, "Troy," she started, "it's important to me."

The pout that had been resting on Troy's lips dissolved as Gabriella spun on her heel and headed towards the bathroom. He pursed his lips, mentally cursing his stupid mouth. Trudging into the bathroom, Troy found Gabriella standing in front of the mirror, staring down as if she was deep in thought. It was one of her more irresistible look, the same look she had had before she pitched the idea too him, and the same look that made him cave to her suggestion.

Troy and Gabriella weren't having sex. Not until the wedding at least. It had been Gabriella's idea, not long after they found out they were expecting, and one in which she was determined to see through to the end. She knew that withholding sex, even if it was just for a little while, would make their wedding night that much more special, and despite that it was hard, Gabriella was certain it was the right thing for them.

Troy wasn't so sure. At first, it had sounded like a great idea. After all, when they had decided to enact the plan, it was already June, he hadn't seen her for a month already, how much harder would another month be? Not hard at all, right? Wrong. It was much harder with an insanely gorgeous woman falling asleep next to you every night when you know you can't touch her.

Still, it was important to Gabriella. And despite that it was hard on him, no pun intended, it made her happy, and if it made her happy, it was worth a couple…dozen…cold showers.

"I know you hate it…" Gabriella started, keeping her head down.

"No," Troy said immediately, leaning against the counter, "it was just a joke. I do that when I'm nervous, you know that." He explained, "Kinda like how I used to make an inappropriate joke every time we were around that really hot neurosurgeon that was into you."

Gabriella scoffed, turning her head to face him, "Dr. Malcolm was _not_ into me, he has a wife and four kids."

Troy rolled his eyes, "Like that's ever stopped anyone."

Gabriella sighed heavily, "Troy, _life_ is not like _Grey's Anatomy_." She told him firmly, "Plus, why would you be nervous?" Troy looked to the side, shrugging his shoulders, "Y-you're not having s-second thoughts, are you?"

Troy's eyes practically bugged out of his head, "No!" he said immediately, "No, no, no…nothing like that, just…pre-wedding jitters, you know? Worried that the cake might not be done to our specifications, the preacher might get sick, or Chad might lose the rings…little things like that." Troy took her hand and turned her body to face him, lifting his unoccupied hand up to cup the side of her cheek, "I am ready to marry you, Gabriella Montez. I have been for a really long time."

Gabriella smiled softly, her eyes shining slightly, "If it makes you feel any better, we're going to a gay strip club."

Troy burst out laughing, his shoulders shaking at her comment, "It does, immensely." He told her, "And if it makes _you_ feel any better, it doesn't matter how many boobs, butts, or pole dances I see tonight, yours will be the only one I'll be thinking about."

Gabriella narrowed her eyes, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, "I don't _have_ a pole dance."

"Yeah," Troy started, "I've been meaning to talk to you about that…"

Gabriella scoffed, shoving Troy hard towards the shower, "Take a shower," she ordered, "I'm taking a nap."

Gabriella turned and exited the bathroom, making her way over to the bed while Troy poked his head out of the bathroom, "Hey, I heard its great exercise." Troy jumped back and slammed the door just before a pillow came barreling towards it. Snorting, he began heading for the shower, "Just saying…"

* * *

She kept telling herself to wake up. She knew she had a list of things she had to do before Sharpay came to pick her up, the most important of which being to get ready for the party, but she didn't seem to be able to make herself get out of bed. It was too comfortable, too warm, she had found the perfect spot on the mattress, and with Troy's hand currently caressing her back with the arm he had slung across her waist, she was in pure heaven. She had been out as soon as her head hit the pillow, the sleep she had been missing ever since she moved to LA finally seeming to catch up to her. Troy had eventually joined her, although she had been far too gone to notice when, and while she was certain he had gone to sleep for a little while, he was most definitely awake now.

Sucking in a deep breath, Gabriella cracked her eyes open, coming face to face with a smiling Troy, "Morning sleepyhead."

Gabriella smiled weakly, "What time is it?"

His eyes diverted from hers for a moment and onto the clock on the bedside table, "Almost four."

Gabriella shut her eyes, shifting slightly, moving to untangle her legs from his, only to feel his arms tighten around her waist, "What are you doing?" Gabriella asked, suppressing a smile.

"Where are you going?" Troy countered.

"I gotta get ready," Gabriella told him, attempting to move, "Shar's gonna be here soon to pick me up."

Troy childishly shook his head, his grip tightening on her further, "No," he whined, "I don't want you to go, stay here longer."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Troy…"

Troy stuck out his bottom lip, attempting to copy her pout, "Please? The next time I see you is ten hours from now. That's a really long time."

Gabriella gave up on her resistance, settling easily back into Troy embrace, one of his hands returning to caress the skin underneath the back of her camisole, while the other moved to cup the back of her head, "You'll be drunk or sleeping three fourths of the time, I don't even think you're going to miss me."

"I'll miss you." Troy protested immediately.

She lifted her eyebrows, "Ten hours is nothing compared to some of the separations we've endured in the past."

"True," Troy conceded, "but all of those separations weren't following weeks of living together and spending every moment we can with one another." He blinked a few times, his blue orbs taking on the glossy look he used whenever he wanted something, "Just another hour? I know you guys aren't planning anything besides nails and facials before nine tonight." He stuck out his bottom lip, emulating her pout, "Please?"

Sighing heavily, Gabriella looked up, "Fine, but just a hour, and only because I'm still sleepy." She shut her eyes, settling further into the mattress, "So sleepy." She felt the bed shift, but she didn't open her eyes, feeling Troy's legs tangle further with her own as he moved closer, "A king sized bed is a waste if we only ever take up a fourth of it."

She could feel his breath on her face, "I wouldn't call this bed wasted, it's very comfortable."

Gabriella cracked open her eyes to find her nose to nose with Troy, "You won't be thinking that when I roll on top of you whilst sleeping and squish you."

Troy smiled, suppressing a laugh, "You won't squish me."

"Maybe not now," Gabriella started, "but in six months I might."

His smile softened, and Gabriella saw his eyes sparkle with the same intense love she saw every time the topic of their baby came up, "I can't wait."

He may have been apprehensive at first, but he had more then made up for it in the time since. Gabriella had been living in LA for a little over a month, and when she had arrived at his…_their_ house, she found one of the five bedrooms in the home, bedrooms that were usually filled with junk, to be cleared with a single white crib sitting in the center of the room. It was still the only thing they had bought for the baby, due to the fact that they hadn't yet told anyone yet, but the baby was a constant topic of conversation between the pair; the sex, who it would look like, who it would act like. Troy told her he only wanted one girl, he didn't care how many other children they had, but just one girl, because, in his reasoning, he only had one murder charge in him before he got locked up, and that would be used on anyone who touched his baby girl.

Gabriella held his stare, "Our parents are never going to buy that it's a honeymoon baby."

"Maybe not," Troy conceded, "but they'll just deal. It's not like this was a fast relationship or that we're rushing into things. We're twenty six, they can't make us feel ashamed that we have sex anymore."

Gabriella lifted her eyebrows, "Right, and tell me again why you won't touch me when my mother is within a five mile radius?"

Troy sent her a look, "Baby, that's not the same, your mom could kill me and make it look like an accident."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "I could too, you know." She told him, "If you turned out to be a sucky husband or cheated on me or something, I could easily slip arsenic into your dinner."

Troy shook his head, "You'd never do that."

"Oh?"

He nodded, "Yeah, because I'd never cheat on you."

Gabriella's narrowed her eyes, "Even when I'm fifty pounds heavier with a full grown baby inside of me that causes me to snap at you for every other statement and burst into tears for the rest?"

"Yep."

Gabriella looked skeptical, "Even with the perfectly proportional Lakers' Girls shaking their asses in front of you each night during the season?"

Troy nodded his head again, "Yeah, you wanna know why?"

"Because I just threatened your life?"

"_Because_," Troy started, "despite that I'm sure they are all gorgeous and know techniques that can make sex mindblowingly amazing," Gabriella's eyebrows shot up, "or so I've heard." He added quickly.

"So you've heard?" Gabriella repeated.

"It's still just sex," Troy continued, ignoring Gabriella's comment, "and even the very best sex cannot measure up to half of what we have."

A soft smile sat on Gabriella's lips as she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers playing with the hairs at the nape of his neck. "I know this is hard for you…"

"No pun intended." Troy inserted.

Gabriella released a quiet laugh as her face rested on the pillow next to his, their noses barely brushing, "But I _promise_, it'll be worth it."

Troy lifted his eyebrows, "Oh really?" he asked, his voice turning husky as Gabriella answered his rhetorical question by placing her lips on his. He wasn't really sure if the kisses simply started off incredibly hot, or if one of them took it there quickly, but frankly, he didn't give a fuck. It had been far too long since they had even been able to make out, whether it was from the wedding, or the two purposely staying out of this situation to avoid any sort of problems was debatable, but nonetheless, he had missed her greatly.

_She_ initiated the first move. He would like to be the one to point out that, while with her tongue down his throat, _she_ moved her hand under the wife beater he was wearing. _She_ began running her tantalizing fingers up and down his back. _She_ brought one of her legs up to curl around his. All of those screamed what he had been trying to not think about for weeks, and at this point, it was too much to ignore.

His hand that had been resting on her back slipped under her shirt, running along the smooth skin of her stomach, taking a moment to pause on the still flat section that was due to start expanding any day now. Gabriella either didn't notice or chose not to acknowledge his pause, her mouth hot against his as the pair dueled with their tongues, Troy's burgeoning erection growing tight against the fabric of his boxer briefs. His hand ventured northward, intent on its destination, and inside Troy was practically leaping for joy at the fact that Gabriella didn't show any signs of letting up at all as Troy detached their lips and began planting kisses on the side of her neck, her fingers moving around to run along the defined lines of his abdominal muscles.

"I love you." Gabriella whimpered out.

Troy pressed a kiss into the crook of her neck, "I love you, too."

"And I love both of you, too!"

Troy and Gabriella jumped apart as they felt the covers yanked off of them, the pair, both still breathing heavily, staring incredulously up at the blonde smirking down at them.

"What the fuck, Sharpay?" Troy practically roared.

Sharpay's grin only grew wider, "Oh good, you're up." Her light brown eyes moved down and Troy followed her gaze, "And apparently so is Little Troy."

Gabriella's head snapped over towards Troy as he quickly grabbed a pillow to cover himself, "What the hell are you doing here?" Troy snapped at her, "This is our house, you can't just barge in."

Sharpay held up a silver key, "I came to pick up the bride. And I don't barge, I strut." She informed him, placing her hands on her hips, "And don't get all sensitive, I know Little Troy isn't really little. Big feet, big hands sort of thing, plus Gabriella _raves_…"

"Sharpay!" Gabriella interrupted, turning to her fiancé to find him already making his way out of bed.

"Fucking Barbie…" Troy mumbled as he made his way over to the bathroom, "I want her _gone_ when I come out." He yelled before slamming the door shut.

Gabriella turned her attention back to her blonde friend, "Shar, was that entirely necessary?"

Sharpay shrugged her shoulders, bringing her hand up to examine her manicure, "Beats me, but it sure was fun." She rolled her eyes, "Now get your ass out of bed, we've got a massage appointment to get to!" Gabriella wasn't given the chance to object as Sharpay tugged her from the bed, Gabriella barely able to grab her purse and shoes before she was yanked out of the house and shoved into an awaiting car.

Something told her it would be an interesting night.


End file.
